Displacement by LosingInTranslation

Chapter 3

Assistant Medical Examiner David Phillips had just returned from another crime scene (his sixth of the night) and he just wanted to get away from CSI headquarters for a little while. His mistake was in trying to leave through the front door. The receptionist stopped him cold, “DAVID!”

He instantly slumped his shoulders before turning around to face the woman at the front desk, “Can it wait, Judy? I was just leaving.”

The diminutive receptionist stood up behind the desk and pointed at a professional looking woman sitting in the chairs of the waiting area. “She’s been here for almost an hour, and Doc Robbins is still in the field. Think you can get her started until he gets here?”

David looked over at the woman, and she was just casually reading a magazine, “Started on what?”

The receptionist moved closer to David and whispered, “She’s the one he’s interviewing today… To replace him.” As soon as the words penetrated David’s overworked and extremely tired brain, everything snapped into focus.

Practically smacking his own head in frustration and surprise, “Right!... Um, yeah, I can give her the tour… Did Dr. Robbins say when he was going to be back?”

“Last time I called him he said they were loading up now and should be driving back soon… But he said he was twenty minutes out.” She looked down at her watch, “That was like ten minutes ago, so I figure he’s probably twenty to thirty minutes still.”

David shook his head, “Right, so I’ll get her started and at least let her wait in his office, instead of out here in the melee.”

The receptionist gave him an appreciative nod, “Thanks, David… I felt really bad about telling her he still wasn’t here again.”

Taking a deep breath and letting it out quickly, David began his walk over to the woman who obviously had the patience of Job. When he was standing right next to her, she just looked away from her reading briefly to notice his presence and then placed a mark over where she had stopped, removed the earphone from her right ear, and closed the magazine. “It’s okay, I’ve already been helped and I’m just waiting for my appointment.”

David fumbled a little at her having spoken first, but he quickly recovered, “Ah.. Um.. No, see, I’m Dr. Robbins’ assistant. And he’s um, still on scene, but he should be back shortly. Reception asked me to give you the tour while you wait, and I’ll take you back to the doctor’s office… So, you can wait where it isn’t quite so busy.”

The woman stood up, and that was when David realized just how tall she was. Looking up into her face, he figured her to be at least six feet tall. She extended a hand to him and he took it, noticing that she definitely had doctor’s hands; closely manicured nails, worn skin from the powder in the gloves they wore most of the day, and strong fingers. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Robbins’ Assistant.”

Her words broke David from his observations, “Oh, um… Sorry, David Phillips, nice to meet you, too.”

“Thanks, David… And don’t worry, everyone is a little intimidated by my height. It’s probably why I use wheelie stools in the morgue so much.” Her smile was disarming, and David was much more at ease now. “Oh, and it’s Stephanie, Stephanie MacInnerney.”

David gestured towards the entry doors, “Well, then let’s head right this way, Dr. MacInnerney.” They both walked up to the doors and David took the guest badge from the receptionist and handed it to this new woman. As the striking woman quickly pinned it to the lapel of her suit jacket, David mused that this could definitely be an interesting development for the lab, if this was the woman Dr. Robbins chose to succeed him.

Reaching the first area, he peeked in to find no one in the A/V Lab, “This is the A/V Analysis Lab… Archie is usually in here still, but he must have already finished for the day.”

She took an appraising eye of the place before commenting, “I imagine being in Las Vegas, there is a great deal of video to process for almost any given case.”

David was taken aback by her observation, “Yeah… That’s what I’m told.” He gestured towards the next area and she followed his cue.

Walking over to the Print Lab, David stopped at the door when he saw the day shift person working in there. When he spoke to the woman now, he was using a hushed voice, “This is the Print Lab, and the day shift people are not fond of interruptions, so we’ll just move on now.” The woman chuckled at his apprehension, but she once again followed his lead.

He peered around the corner into the Trace Lab, and was relieved to not find anyone in there. The last thing he wanted this late in the shift was to be dealing with Hodges, “Uh, this is the Trace Lab, and you will learn to avoid it at all costs.”

She was noticeably intrigued by his comment. “And why is that, David?” she asked as she looked around the lab.

“The night shift guy is a real-.”

“Real nice guy to have around… Right, David?” Hodges chose that moment to re-enter the lab and place himself between David and this new woman. Not waiting for David to continue, he decided to introduce himself, “Hello, I’m David Hodges… One of the senior techs here at the lab, and a charming delight to have around… And you are?” Hodges was being his normal, oily self.

“Just visiting.” And with those two short words, she turned out of the Trace Lab with David slipping carefully past Hodges and trying not to let his smirk seem too obvious. David was definitely right; this woman might just be the perfect fit for this place.

The rest of their tour was fairly uneventful, and with every interaction, David was becoming more and more convinced that this new development in the morgue might not be as bad as he had originally envisioned. When Dr. Robbins first told him he would be moving to days, David was heartbroken. He had never worked with another coroner and was not looking forward to either. With classes and his fiancé, David knew he would not be able to follow the doctor to the day shift. And besides, David hated working with most of the day shift techs, since they seemed to have unreasonably high opinions of themselves. David decided being caught by the receptionist was probably the best part of his shift tonight, because it had given him a unique chance to meet with the person who could very well be his new boss in a few weeks.

When they finally reached Dr. Robbins office, David was now feeling comfortable enough to actually look at this new doctor. He realized that, in addition to being over the six foot estimation he had made earlier, that she also possessed an athletic build. He also noticed that her hair was not a deep brown, as he had originally perceived, but that it was actually a very rich auburn with what seemed to be a natural curl to it, though he suspected she did something to it to keep it from becoming as uncontrollably curly as his could get when it was longer. He also observed that she was quick to smile, which was a trait sorely in short supply around CSI headquarters. Overall, he surmised that she had a pleasant disposition and seemed to have a wealth of knowledge regarding the whole process of forensics. He assumed that she probably had some kind of degree in forensics, as well as her medical degree. He also realized that she was an extremely attractive woman, and would have most of the guys around here standing on their ears with a simple glance.

However, before he could continue his analysis and start asking her any questions about her background, Dr. Robbins had finally arrived, “David, Dispatch said that you had taken charge of my interv-.” Doc Robbins stopped his question as soon as he noticed the young woman who had just stood up from her seat in his office, “Ah… I guess they were right… Dr. MacInnerney, I presume?” The doctor stepped towards the woman with his free hand extended.

“Indeed,” she took the proffered hand and nodded her head. “Good to see you finally got out of the field… Busy night?”

The doctor released her hand and started making his way around to the other side of his desk, “That would be the understatement of the decade… Any time they get me out of the morgue, it is more than just busy.” He turned back to David, “David, if you could log in the last body, you can go ahead and sign off for the day… I know you’ve been going since about 5PM and you have class tonight.”

David looked visibly relieved to hear the doctor’s suggestion, “Thank you, Dr. Robbins. I’ll get that done now.” He turned to the woman, “And it was nice to meet you, Dr. MacInnerney.”

The woman nodded at his comment, “Likewise, David… And thanks for the tip about Trace.” David was not certain as he turned to leave the office, but he thought the woman had winked at him when she commented about Hodges. He thought to himself, And a decent sense of humor; I like her.

Chapter 4

Dr. Robbins was still trying to catch his breath from his morning jaunt out to a crime scene. It was the last thing he had planned on today, but poor David had already gone on six calls that night and had been on the sixth when the call came down from Dispatch. Day shift had not arrived yet, and the doctor decided he had better take the call himself. He could only hope that it would not take very long and he could get back to the office in time for his interview. That was just not in the cards for him, and he was still fighting to get the body extracted from the vehicle when he had noticed it was 9AM. He quickly called the front desk of CSI headquarters to let them know he was running behind, but to have David give the woman the tour of the facility when he returned from his last case, and he would be there as soon as he could.

He had been worried about giving the woman a bad impression of what the job would entail. He was worried, because during his search for a replacement, he had been sorely disappointed with the quality of candidates for the position. This woman might have been short on criminalistic experience, due mostly to her exceptionally young age, but her other credentials were impeccable. She had only been out of her residency for a year, but she had spent that year working at the L.A. County Coroner’s Office, and that meant her experience probably counted for three times that in the volume of cases worked. After he had started calling her professional references, he quickly realized that he had a star in the making with this young woman. She received glowing recommendations from the head of the biology department at UC – Berkeley. The head of pathology at UCLA Medical School could not have praised her more, and told him that he would never find a more astute pathologist in their field. But he was most surprised by the comments coming from the L.A. County Coroner. Seeing as the young woman had only been there for a year, the L.A. County Coroner had given her only the highest of compliments, and lamenting about her decision to relocate to Las Vegas. Dr. Robbins had high hopes that this interview would prove that the young woman had what it would take to handle the unusual environment of the LVPD crime lab nightshift; or more importantly, if she had the metal to be able to handle the CSI night shift crew.

He pulled out the folder with her resume, transcripts and recommendations before he started talking again, “I really am sorry about being so late… It was simply unavoidable, I’m afraid.”

She just smiled at his apology, “Unfortunately, people do not like to die at appropriate times, do they?”

The doctor laughed out loud at her coroner humor, “Indeed… Terribly rude of them…” He found the page he was looking for and looked back up at the woman. “I know you have another interview to get to, so I will try to keep this as short as possible. How much time do you have?”

She simply shook her head to dismiss his concerns, “Not a problem at all… My other appointment isn’t until after lunch, so we’re good to go.”

“Oh, well, I guess this works out, after all… So, when did you get in to Vegas?” He tried to engage her in some small talk to put them both at ease, and to get a feeling for her demeanor and character.

“I managed to catch the last flight out of L.A., since I missed my first flight.”

Dr. Robbins was confused, “And why was that?”

She sat back in the chair as she responded, “I had court yesterday, and it took longer than I anticipated, so I had some catching up to do in the morgue before I was able to leave for the long weekend. Fortunately, my boss has some friends at LAX and they pulled some strings to get me on that last flight.”

“Ah… Good to have a boss like that. And speaking of your boss, I had a very interesting conversation with him yesterday.” He was looking her directly in the eye when he spoke, “It’s not often that the head of the L.A. County Coroner’s Office takes such an interest in a rookie coroner, but he had some pretty high praise for your work there, and seemed genuinely disappointed at the prospect of your leaving.” She had not flinched, and appeared to be fairly pleased with his comments.

“I’ve learned a great deal working there, but my personal life dictates that I need to move to Las Vegas. Dr. Pratael has been a fantastic teacher and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with him for the last year. If circumstances were different, then I would probably have stayed in L.A. and continued working for him.” She was being somewhat cryptic with her answer.

He decided that he would try to get her to answer a direct question about her personal life, “And what circumstances are those?”

“Well, it might seem somewhat old-fashioned, but the fact is, my fiancé is a trauma surgeon and wasn’t able to match at any of the hospitals in L.A. for the final phase of his residency. So, when he matched out here, I knew that I had a hard choice to make. I held out for six months, but the fact is I didn’t enjoy my time away from him, and our work keeps us from having much free time for traveling back and forth. So, my only option was to move to Las Vegas, since I’m no longer bound by the matching system.” She was looking him directly in the eyes, and did not seem uncomfortable in sharing the very personal information.

“Sounds like a pretty good reason to me.” He turned to her medical school records from UCLA and looked over his notes from her advisor there, “I see here that you were offered a pretty substantial position at the UCLA Medical Center upon finishing your residency… What was your reasoning behind taking the lesser position at the L.A. County Coroner’s?”

“First off, I think that the superiority of the positions has more to do with perspective… But mostly, I would have to say that I didn’t get into pathology to be a clinical pathologist, as I’m far more interested in the practice of pathology and the field work that can be found in criminal pathology.” She pondered a moment before continuing, “And being stuck in a research facility with nothing but theory to be passionate about is just not a way I can live in a greater world… I suppose being a cop’s kid, gives you a different taste for life, and a whole different perspective on the way things work in this world.”

Dr. Robbins chuckled a little, “Well, you just beat me to my next question… Dr. Pratael told me your father was a detective. And I was wondering how that affected your decisions.”

“Well, my father was an Inspector, not a detective… Twenty two years with the San Francisco PD, and a good many of those as an Inspector with Major Cases.” She spoke with an immense amount of pride in her voice. “His life has an enormous impact on the choices I’ve made in my professional career. He was a great man, and had a fantastically analytical mind as well as gentle soul. I can only hope that he would be proud of the decisions I’ve made and my choice to follow, somewhat loosely, in his footsteps.”

Dr. Robbins turned that information over in his head a moment before asking his next question, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that he had passed… How long has it been?”

“It was a couple years ago, but he had enjoyed almost two years of retirement with my mother before he died peacefully in his sleep. Exactly the way he always wanted to go.” Her face took on a serenity with those words and that pleased Dr. Robbins. It was always good that anyone in his field had a healthy relationship with death.

“As every good cop dreams…” Giving that statement the proper amount of time to be cherished, he waited a moment before continuing his questions, “As I am sure you are aware, I also spoke with the head of pathology at UCLA, and she was extremely enthusiastic about your tenure there. You seem to instill a certain amount of admiration in your superiors. What do you attribute this to?”

That question actually got a reaction from her, “Wow… That’s the first time someone ever asked me that… Well, I guess the biggest thing would be my work ethic, and after that, I imagine it comes from my constant work to improve myself and my skills.” Solid answer, Dr. Robbins had to work harder if he was going to catch her off-guard.

“Very good…” He now switched over to her transcripts, “I see you started UC – Berkeley as a sophomore, and finished early. How did you pull that off?”

“Well, I went to two high schools so that I could take the maximum number of AP courses, and participate in the International Baccalaureate program, so I had a little bit of a head start.” The pride was once again evident in her voice.

The doctor, however, was stunned with her answer, “How on earth did you manage that one?”

“Well, I have an unbelievable thirst for knowledge, and a little bit of my father’s workaholic gene, so it was pretty hard to stop me. And believe me, my mother tried. I was in school from 6AM until 6PM every day of the week, and for a few hours on Saturday. Except during basketball season, when I was there until about 9PM.”

Dr. Robbins was shaking his head, “And that would explain the High School All-American Athlete Award and why you played basketball at UC- Berkeley for a year… Just how tall are you?” he asked with a bit of awe in his voice.

“Six foot four…” She chuckled at the manner in which he had asked the question, “But honestly it never phased me until I hit high school, because my parents were both fairly tall.”

“How tall were they?”

“Shorter than I ended up being… Mom was five ten/five eleven, depending on which way the mood struck her… And Pop was six foot two.”

The doctor decided to make a joke about his own height and infirmity, “I could be six foot, if I worked at it.”

“If you wanted to perform a balancing act twenty four/seven, maybe.” She noticed the somewhat shocked expression on his face and decided maybe she should not have continued the joke, “Sorry, I just assumed you were referring to your prosthetics.”

“Well, I was, but how did you know?” He was genuinely curious how she knew about his amputations.

“Well, I noticed when you walked in, and your gait pretty much says it all. You’ve had bi-lateral amputations, right?” She was being completely sincere in her admission.

“Well, yes I did.”

“And I didn’t notice any obvious signs of diabetes or peripheral circulatory disease, so I would assume it was an accident of some kind… Correct?” Her analysis was dead on, but he was at a loss as to how she would have guessed.

He decided that she must have done some research about him before arriving, “And where did you read about that? I don’t recall that being part of my general knowledge packet.”

“Well, it was just observation… I am the daughter of an Inspector, and he used to let me go through his case files. And when he and his friend would have a tough case, they would let me sit in on their brainstorming sessions, so I learned a lot from them growing up… I was pretty much raised to be a criminalist, but I was also looking for more of a challenge than straight investigative work. I needed the intricacies of medical science, as well as the stretching of my analytical mind to find fulfillment in my professional life. That would be why I chose this field of study.”

Dr. Robbins was thoroughly impressed with her ability to think on her feet, and from not over-reacting to his suggestion that she had tried to pull one over on him. “So, why are you interviewing at UNLV, if you are so committed to this field?”

“That’s easy… It would only be a temporary job, until I was able to get on somewhere as an M.E… The things we are willing to sacrifice for in the name of those we love can be a pretty surprising thing sometimes.” She had a sincerely content expression on her face, and that actually made him even more certain that he had found his replacement. This young woman truly had her head on straight, and that was something sorely needed for working the night shift around this place.

“Well, I was only concerned about one thing when I was going through your resume and references: the complete absence of personal references. Is there some reasoning behind that?” In his mind, this would be the final test of her personality.

“To be honest… I really didn’t want any of my personal affiliations to influence someone’s decision to hire me or not. I like to earn the things I accomplish based solely on my own merits.” Her frankness surprised him more than the answer itself.

“Well, that is one of the most intriguing answers I have ever heard, but I do respect your wish to base your selection on merit.”

“If it comes down to a matter of hiring me or not, I can provide you with some personal references, but I would prefer to make that disclosure after a decision has been made. I just don’t want it to be what people see first.” And that was exactly what he needed to hear.

Dr. Robbins had only one more question, but he had to come about it in a careful way, “Well, I know that the position at UNLV has better hours and more money, but I’m curious what your choice would be, if you were offered both positions.”

“I’ll be honest with you… I would drop UNLV right now, if I was offered the job here, even if it was only on a probationary basis.” She took a deep breath before continuing, “LVPD has one of the best municipal crime labs in the country. And being the daughter of a cop, I would have to be pretty hard pressed to go into F.B.I. service, so this is quite possibly my dream job.”

Dr. Robbins chose that moment to stand up from behind his desk and offered his hand to the young woman. She rose from her chair, towering over the man, and assumed that it signaled the interview was over. So, she was completely blown away by the words that came out of his mouth, “Then let me be the first to welcome you to the Las Vegas Police Department Crime Lab.”

She was totally speechless by his comment and stood there a moment holding his hand in her substantial one. “Um… I’m sorry, did you mean that I got the job?”

“For someone who graduated with honors from two rather exceptional schools, you should probably understand that sentence a lot better.” Dr. Robbins started laughing as she began to shake his hand vigorously. “Congratulations, Dr. MacInnerney… I could keep looking for someone to fill this position and not find someone even half as perfect a fit as you are for the job… You have the skills, the knowledge, the sense of humor and the personal stability needed to succeed in this field, and especially in this lab. I see no reason to keep looking when I have the chance to steal you away from Poletano before he even gets to meet you and promises you the world to keep you from coming back here.”

The young woman was overcome with joy, but she was finally able to speak her mind, “Thank you very much, Dr. Robbins… You have absolutely no idea how happy you’ve just made me. I mean really… I thought this job was a shot in a million for someone with my limited experience, and I would have practically worked for free to convince you to hire me.”

“Well, it’s a good thing our assistant director didn’t hear you say that, because he would have taken you up on it.” That was when Dr. Robbins’ office door swung open, and Grissom barged in, “Well, thanks for knocking, but you do have impeccable timing… I’d like you to meet our new night shift coroner.” She turned around, based on Robbins’ gestures and was just as dumbstruck as Grissom when their eyes met. When they did not speak or move for a more than a minute, Dr. Robbins decided to break the stalemate. “I take it you two know each other?”

The young woman was finally able to break their stare, reached down into her briefcase and handed Dr. Robbins a sheet of paper, “I think this might help explain.”

Dr. Robbins looked at the sheet to discover that it was those missing personal references, and at the top of the list was Dr. Gilbert Grissom; relationship, family.

Grissom was finally able to shake himself from the shock of seeing her here in Las Vegas, and realized that Dr. Robbins had just said she was the new coroner, “Steph,” he gestured widly for a moment around him, “What are you doing in Vegas? What happened in L.A.?”

“Nothing happened in L.A… Or, at least nothing was going to happen there. You see, Thomas matched at Desert Palms, and I got tired of living alone…” She paused for a moment and then went immediately on the defensive, “I swear I was gonna call you tonight after the interviews were done and you were awake…” She appeared very nervous talking to Grissom, “I just didn’t want to say anything until I knew I’d be moving, Uncle Gil.”

And there was Dr. Robbins’ answer; Gil Grissom was her uncle. He looked between the two of them and could not find any resemblance, other than that they were both tall, but their builds were completely different. Grissom had a solid frame to go with his, and a little of that middle aged girth that he himself had experienced. But Dr. MacInnerney had a very trim build, despite her broad shoulders, and her hair, though curly, held none of the same properties of Grissom’s, especially the rich auburn color. She also had the deepest green eyes he had ever seen before. Grissom’s blue eyes might have been striking, but the color was no where near as deep as hers were, and Dr. Robbins wondered how they could possibly be related by blood.

Suddenly awakened from his stupor, Grissom quickly moved in to embrace the young woman, “I just talked to your Mom last weekend, and she didn’t say a word about this.” When he caught Dr. Robbins incredulous look, he just gave him that infamous, “oh well” expression and then held her at arms’ length to get a better look at her.

“That’s because she doesn’t know just yet… I wanted to be sure about the move before I told her… But knowing Mom, she’s probably been suspecting as much since Thomas matched six months ago.” They both laughed at her supposition.

“Hey, wait a sec… You just hired her?” He looked back at Dr. Robbins.

“Are you kidding? She’s far and away the best person who applied for the position… And now that I know how she figured out about my legs, I’d offer her the moon not to reconsider… After all, she’d have to put up with you on night shift.” He looked around Grissom to catch the young woman’s eye again, “Are you sure this is still your dream job?”

She laughed out loud that time, “Are you kidding?! I’ve dreamed of working with Uncle Gil and my father since I was a little girl… At least I got half my wish.” Grissom squeezed her hand at the mention of his longtime friend and mentor, as well as her father.

“Well, then you got it…” Dr. Robbins turned his gaze back at Grissom, “But I thought you were an only child, Gil?”

“Oh, I am… Stephanie’s father was a very good friend, and a mentor. He and I worked together on a number of tough cases when I was in San Francisco. Best Inspector in the history of the SFPD, and my best friend. No, I’m actually Stephanie’s godfather. Uncle Gil was just much easier to say for a three year old with a serious lisp.” The young woman elbowed him for his jibe and he feigned injury for it.

Dr. Robbins shook his head as he chuckled, “And I was wondering why she didn’t want to give me her personal references… Probably because she thought I would assume she was just as difficult as you are.” Dr. Robbins reached down and grabbed his bag, fumbling for his cell phone, “And if you don’t mind, my dear, I’d love to break the news to Poletano myself, before Gil and I take you out for a congratulatory lunch?” She nodded her agreement to him as he dialed the number. “Tony?... Yeah, it’s Al Robbins… Yeah, actually I was calling to give you some bad news… I understand you guys are trying to get a new clinical pathologist over there… Well, these things leak out, somehow… Well, I was just calling to let you know that you better keep looking… Didn’t you have a promising interview this afternoon?... I have my sources… Yes, I am looking for a replacement over here. Well, I was anyway… Found her this morning… Young gun from the L.A. County Coroner’s Office… You, too? Really? What was her name?... What do you mean, ‘how do I know it was a woman?’… Yep, that’s the one… You can cancel that appointment, Tony… You can disparage my mother all you want, but you should know better than to not schedule your interviews in the morning around this town… Right, we’ll talk it over at the next alumni party… Have a great day, Tony.” He turned back to the pair with his bag in hand and a devilish grin spreading across his face, “I just love sticking it to that guy.”

Chapter 5

With most of the usual suspects seated at the break room table, they were just killing time until their fearless leaders arrived with tonight’s assignments. Everyone had managed to get through the turmoil of last week unscathed, but Sunday nights always seemed to bring out the bigger cases, and the weirder cases. Nick was just about to start in on his strangest Sunday case when Catherine came walking into the break room carrying the assignment slips. The thing that struck everyone was that she was alone.

They all looked behind her with the expectation of Grissom being right there on her heels when she turned around to see what they were looking at she said, “What?”

Warrick took point on this one, “Ah, we were just waitin’ for Gris… Where is he?”

“Personal matter.” She had gone back to flipping through the slips of paper, and did not even look up when she spoke, “He’ll be in the lab later on… But in the meantime, we have some scenes to take care of.”

Nick was unable to resist, “Since when does Grissom do ‘personal?’”

The group laughed it off, but Catherine noticed that Sara was visibly unsettled by the information. She decided to glaze over it in order to spare her the embarrassment. “Yeah, yeah… Catches up to all of us now and then, I guess…” Catherine looked around the room and tried to spot their lab rat turned CSI, Greg Sanders. “Where’s Greg?” She gave them her patented tilt of the head to indicate her irritation.

Just as she was about to go off, Sanders came sliding into the room, “Sorry, sorry, sorry… Got stuck in Trace, and Hodges just would NOT lay off about that hottie he saw Super Dave with the other day. I think the creep is obsessed or something.” Greg quickly took his seat between Sara and Nick, hoping the repercussions of his lateness would not be too severe, he quickly remembered to give Catherine a quick glance of the puppy dog eyes he was so good at giving.

“Greg, since you have such an affection for the lab right now, why don’t you take the supply room and get it organized. Grissom has that on his list of slow night duties.” Obviously, Catherine had built up an immunity to that trick, and Greg slumped down in his chair. “Nick you’ve got a B&E at a warehouse out by McCarran, so remember to vest up… ‘Rick, you’ve got the shoot out over in your old stomping grounds… PD requested you specifically, so I imagine the scene is a little hot.” Shuffling through to the last assignment, she looked up at Sara, “Since Grissom is on paperwork duty tonight, it looks like you and me are taking the possible double all the way out at the L.V. Motor Speedway.” She looked around the room, and saw that everyone was ready, “Any questions?” When she saw that there were none, “All right then, let’s get to it, and get back here safe.”

Everyone packed up and headed out to their respective crime scenes, that is, everyone but Greg Sanders. He was walking dejectedly off to the Supply Room to get started on his punishment for the night. He decided that he was going to have to get Hodges back for this. That guy just gets on my nerves… What a weenie!

Sara was standing outside in the parking lot, waiting for Catherine to finish talking to one of the detectives before they left for their crime scene. She was still a little disappointed to hear that Grissom was having a personal life. He had been acting awfully strange lately, what with taking nights off and disappearing twice in one week. Before she could ponder it any longer, Catherine walked up and threw the keys to the Denali at her, “You drive, I have some calls to make.”

Sara just shook her head and turned to get in on the driver’s side, “Right… Benefits of seniority?”

Catherine was quick to join the taunting, “Benefits of Superiority.” She shot Sara one of those dangerous looks, but punctuated it with a raised eyebrow, letting the younger woman know she was just pulling her chain. “Come on, let’s hit the road. I want to get back in time to give Greg a little more grief.” This time they both laughed as the Denali pulled away from the parking lot.

As they merged onto I-15 northbound from I-515 and headed out to the Speedway, Sara decided to break the silence that followed Catherine’s phone calls, “Are they still working on Fifteen North of Craig Rd?”

Catherine looked up from the report she was flipping through and surveyed the road in front of them, “Ah, no, they finished that project last month… Now they have Losee closed off to fix the mess they made when they diverted the traffic. Makes it a real joy for me getting past all the extra side road traffic to make it in to work every night.”

Sara decided to keep up the small talk a while longer, “I can imagine… I had the same trouble when they were working on the Vegas Expressway.”

“Oh yeah, that was a real nightmare…” Catherine put away her report and looked at Sara a while before she decided to bust her, “So, are we done with the small talk yet? Or do you have some weather material you want to try before you get around to asking me about Gil?”

Sara visibly winced at Catherine’s definitive questioning skills. “That obvious, huh?”

“C’mon… Traffic reports? Honey, you’re gonna have to do a lot better than that with me.” Catherine just chuckled at Sara’s feeble attempt of subterfuge.

“Yeah, it was kind of a stretch… I don’t know, it just seems he’s been acting out of the norm lately… Do you have any idea what’s up?” Sara was hoping it would appear as general concern and not the suspicious inquiry it really was.

“I know he was pretty thrown with all the stuff that happened with Nicky. And mentioned something about trying to get his life back on track or some crap… But as for tonight, he had to get someone to the airport kind of last minute. So, no big deal on that one. Just being Grissom.”

“Why does that always sound like a big deal?” Sara was not sure she had said those words out loud. Not until she heard Catherine laugh.

“Because it’s Grissom!”

Chapter 6

Grissom’s black Denali was driving past the UNLV campus on its way to make an unscheduled pickup from one of those quaint little townhomes just east of the Desert Palms Hospital. When she had called and gave him the address, he was actually surprised to discover just how close she was going to be living to him in a few short weeks.

His goddaughter would be living within close proximity to the man who felt like he was mostly without family. And she was most definitely his family. He had known Stephanie since she was a toddler, barely out of diapers and already as smart as a whip. When her father had first introduced him to his beloved daughter, he had called him “Dr. Grissom.” When she spoke her first words to him, he was unable to refrain from laughing at her obvious difficulty in saying his last name. Her lisp made it all but unintelligible, but her tiny little face was determined to get the word out. And when she scrunched up those emerald green eyes, to spit it out, one way or the other, Gil actually laughed out loud. The little girl, however, was not so amused. Her face was turning as red as her Shirley Templesque curly hair. That was when her mother came to the rescue, and proclaimed that seeing as he was the reason her father was absent most of the time, that she might as well call him “Uncle Gil.” The name had stuck, and before long, Gil actually felt like her uncle. It was no time before he was over for Sunday dinner every week, and was treated to the same questioning nature of this astoundingly inquisitive little girl. At her fourth birthday party, “Uncle Gil” got her a children’s book on identifying the different kinds of bugs. He was surprised and delighted to discover the following Sunday that she had collected nearly every bug in the book and had them separated in little baggies and was, not so patiently, waiting for his arrival so that he could show her, as her father had promised, how to mount her new collection. She was, in essence, his first pupil. Absorbing everything he told her like a sponge, he soon learned that those “age appropriate” books were simply not going to hold her attention any longer. By the time she had started first grade at the age of five, she was attempting to read some secondary school text books alongside her “Uncle Gil.” By the second grade, she was learning high school biology, and had started reading poetry after “Uncle Gil” had read to her from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for her bedtime story. When she entered the ninth grade, about the time Gil was leaving for Las Vegas, she was already two grades ahead of the other children her age, having read nearly every piece of classic literature available, knowing more about biology and chemistry than the teachers at her high school and having a very observant eye, as well as a highly analytical mind. She had taken to sitting in on her father’s brainstorming sessions with Gil when they were working on particularly hard cases, and would run evidence with them, as well as working on theories. It was at that point that he and her father had started a bet about what her future career would be. Gil was convinced that she would be the head of surgery at a major hospital, and her father was sure she would be the first female Chief Inspector. And as usual, she was far exceeding both of their expectations.

When he pulled up in front of the address he had scribbled down on the piece of paper sitting on his dashboard, he took a moment to put a final note on his thoughts. Not only had she exceeded their expectations of her, but she had far exceeded their own lives. This girl had done everything she set out to do without fear and without regret. They had given her that ability, through their own bad examples. She grabbed life with both hands and fought for everything she wanted to do and be and was unapologetic for all of it. He did not think he would have given up everything to follow his heart as she had done with her planned move to Las Vegas. She made those plans without any certainty that she would ever be able to work as a medical examiner again, purely because she had given her heart to that kid. That kid, he thought, was probably the luckiest man on the planet, because he had what Gil had never been brave enough to risk.

Just as his thoughts were threatening to take him to a place that he was usually afraid to go, there was a sudden knock on his passenger window that made him jump enough to hit his head and elicit a hearty laugh from the young woman on the other side of the glass that he had just started to lower. “Sorry, Uncle Gil… I didn’t realize you were so deep in thought.” She opened the door to the car and tossed her garment and overnight bags into the backseat before hopping into the SUV and reaching for her buckle.

“That’s okay… But let’s say we avoid trying to give the old man his first heart-attack before the age of fifty, shall we?” Gil put the Denali back into gear and backed out of the parking space with the young woman shaking her head at him.

“Please! You are not even close to old yet.” She turned back to face him as he navigated the SUV onto the street and pulled away from the townhouse. “Mom still calls you ‘The Kid.’ So you must be doing something right.”

“She got that from your father… Elizabeth is barely older than I am.” Gil was finding their banter very familiar and terribly comfortable.

“Not true… Mom had her sixtieth last year, so she’s got what; twelve or thirteen years on you?” She had her face scrunched up into that childlike expression that Gil remembered from all those years ago as she tried to wriggle the answer from him.

“You might be like your father in a lot of ways, but you do not have his interrogation skills, kiddo.” They both laughed her attempt to get his age out of him.

“Hey, you can’t blame a girl for trying…” She reached behind her to retrieve an envelope from her bag, “I’m flying out on United. And thanks again for helping out on such short notice. Thomas got called in to surgery after some kind of gang shooting broke out and the hospital got hit with six en route.”

“Anytime, Princess…” Gil just realized that he had called her by the pet name they had for her when she was just a little girl, and he prepared for the berating he was sure would follow. However, when he dared to look over at her, she had a very contented expression on her face, but her stare seemed to be a million miles away. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just haven’t heard that one in a long time… Not since the last weekend I spent with Mom and Pop.” Gil was sorry that he had brought up the memory with his slip of the tongue, “Pop did the same thing you did… Slipped and called me ‘Princess,’ and for the first time since I had ‘grown up’ I wasn’t mad about it. It felt pretty good actually.” She just leaned her head against the glass and continued to look out the window into the nothingness. After a few minutes of silent driving, she turned to him and a smile spread across her face, “But if you use that name at work, I’m going to have to kill you… You know that, right?”

Then it was Gil’s turn to smile, “Oh yeah… You do have your father’s temper, and I never tempted that fate, so there’s no sense in starting to live dangerously now.” The two enjoyed the private joke that they shared and the rest of the trip to the airport was uneventful.

He stopped out in front of the United door and took her bags out of the SUV before he pulled her into his arms for a departing hug. As she pulled away, she placed a kiss upon his cheek and tugged at his beard a little, “Mom was right, Uncle Gil… The beard does make you look like a professor.”

“Is that a clever way of saying ‘older?’”

“Not at all… Smarter.” They both laughed again. She bent down to grab her bags, “Hey Uncle Gil… Do you think it would be okay if we kept the whole relationship thing quiet at first?”

He raised his eyebrow at her with that sly questioning look, “And the purpose of this would be?”

She shifted a little uneasily before she answered, “Well, I don’t want anyone treating me differently because of who I am to you… I have this thing about standing on my own two feet, ya know.”

He smirked at her answer, “Oh yeah… I know all about that one… Your father was furious when you turned down the admission to Stanford. If it wasn’t for your mother intervening, you’d have been in a lot of trouble, young lady.”

“Hey, how could I expect to get a fair break getting a science degree at a school where your mother is a tenured department head?”

He just nodded his head, “I understand… And I will keep it under my hat until you give me the high sign. Fair enough?”

She dropped her bags again and gave him a big hug this time, “Thanks, Uncle Gil… It really means a lot to me. I mean, it’s bad enough Dr. Robbins already knows. I’ve already got some high expectations to live up to as it is.”

“You’ll be fine… And remember, if you change your mind, the offer to help you drive back still stands. It’s a long boring drive and it is best done as a team.” He gave her what he assumed was a fatherly glance, and hoped it would be well received.

“Not a problem… Thomas is flying out to help me pack and drive back to Vegas. It’s all under control.” Her smile was infectious and he flashed his own back at her before she grabbed her bags again and waved at him as she started for the terminal.

Now all he had left to do was wait two weeks… He was good at waiting…

Chapter 7

She had spent three hours that day filling out more forms and surveys and legal documents and releases of information and applications for insurances than she had ever dreamed existed. Surely, after all of that, she knew that a tree had died in order for her to get her dream job. When she handed the mound of paperwork over to the personnel clerk, Dr. Stephanie MacInnerney knew she was taking a monstrous step towards her new life. After that historical moment, she stopped at the store and got herself a fruit bowl to take home: the home she now shared with her fiancé. She had wanted to get a little unpacking done before Thomas woke up and they were able to spend just a little more time together before she had to be on duty for her first shift in the morgue. She was still dealing with the after affects of six and a half months of isolation from the man she loved, and it would still be a while before they had made up for lost time.

When she arrived at CSI headquarters that evening, she was really starting to feel the butterflies and she was ready to get it all over with quickly. She needed to make her reputation fast in this place, because she was actually going to be working with her ghost here. At least with the L.A. County Coroner’s she had a little distance from her father’s reputation, and her name gave her plenty of distance from good old Uncle Gil as well. But here in the same lab in which he worked, it was only going to be a matter of time before her secret got out.

After getting her orientation speech from Dr. Robbins, and she got the full tour of the morgue. it was time for her to get familiar with her surroundings. She had immediately changed into the scrubs that David had pre-ordered for her; extra large and extra tall, just the right size. But it was when she slipped on that blue lab coat with her last name embroidered on one side and Las Vegas PD Crime Lab on the other side that she truly felt like this whole thing was not a dream. She sat down on the stool beside the metal table in the autopsy room and was busy looking through the procedural guide.

That was how CSI Nick Stokes found her in the morgue. And without even realizing what he was doing, he whistled. Not one of those casual whistles, but the kind of crude thing you heard when a pretty girl walked by a construction site. As soon as the auburn haired beauty in the lab coat turned to the source of the lewd whistle he knew he was doomed, and his face showed every ounce of his shame. “I know things are a lot more relaxed in Las Vegas, but I can’t imagine they just forgot about sexual harassment legislation.” Her carefully raised eyebrow told him he was so busted.

“Hey, I’m real sorry… I swear that was so not intentional.” Nick was failing miserably, and his face was now turning about fifty shades of red from his total embarrassment.

Sensing that the man before her had been sufficiently mortified by his own act, she decided to give him a break, “Right… And I suppose you’ve never done anything like that before, too.” She gave him one more disapproving glance before she turned back to her manual, “So, why are you down here?”

The voice that responded was decidedly feminine, “Because he was looking for an autopsy report… And you are?” When Stephanie turned back around, she found an older woman with strawberry blonde hair standing with her hand on her cocked hip and a serious case of attitude on her face.

“The one who put Dr. Robbins’ reports in the boxes of the people they belonged to after he went home for a little while.” As she finished speaking she stood up. Sometimes, her height gave her a serious advantage, as it was doing while she watched both of the CSI’s follow her ascent with their stares. “And you are?”

Catherine decided that maybe she should take a different tack with this woman, “Well, I would be Supervisor Catherine Willows, and you still haven’t answered my question.”

“Good to meet you, Catherine… Dr. Robbins had some good things to say about you.” Stephanie was holding out for just a while longer, but she did offer her hand to the woman. As they shook hands, she looked in Nick’s direction, “I’m surprised you still have those tendencies with a female supervisor, Mr-?”

The blush had quickly returned to Nick’s face, and he looked at Catherine for reassurance, but found that accusatory stare of hers and was now desperate to escape the morgue at all costs, “Completely Embarrassed and Wanting to Take a Bullet Now.”

Stephanie then extended her hand to Nick, “Wow, your parents must have really wanted a puppy.” Catherine was unable to contain the laugh that escaped her lips and Nick began to shrink back from the two, realizing he was now the brunt of a joke. His only consolation came from the fact that it would appear as though this new woman in the morgue was not really going to nail him for the whistle screw up. He shook her hand and his head.

“Hey, I really am sorry about that before… I guess my libido overrode my brain on that one. And I’m Nick, Nick Stokes.” He was still blushing, but it confirmed Stephanie’s suspicions that it had been an innocent mistake.

“No problem, Nick. But I have two tips for you… One, I have excellent hearing, and two, I also read lips. So, I would suggest saving any comments regarding my anatomy to be said far away from me.” Nick was taken aback by her comment and gave Catherine a look that showed his confusion and shock.

Catherine, sensing the joke, played along, “Nicky, do we need to have an appropriate behavior in the workplace lecture?”

“I swear, Cath, it was nothing like that, honest!” When the two women looked at each other, they were unable to keep the joke going any longer and burst out laughing. “Oh, okay… I get it: teach the idiot boy a lesson, huh?”

“Sorry, Nicky, but it sounded like you needed it.” Catherine turned back to Stephanie, “I would have to say that you are probably our new coroner, right?”

Still laughing, she tried to answer, “That would be correct. Stephanie MacInnerney. It’s really nice to meet you Catherine… Al and Gil had lots of great things to say about you, so I’ve been looking forward to this.”

Catherine looked a little surprised, “So, you’ve seen Gil already?”

“Ah, yeah…” That was her first slip up, and she had to recover fast, “He and Al took me out to lunch when I was out here for my interview.” She managed to pull that one off pretty easy, without further incident, but Stephanie knew she would need to be very careful around this woman if she was going to keep her secret safe.

Nick was still trying to recover from his shameful introduction to the new coroner, “So, is it doctor, Stephanie, or what?”

“Well, I’ve been called many things in my lifetime, but mostly it’s just Stephanie. My age tends to make it hard for me to pull off the whole title thing.” Stephanie was hoping that he did not put her height and name together for the inevitable nickname she had been running from for years. She would be really glad when she got married so she could drop that last name.

“Thank God! I was really hoping you didn’t look that good in your thirties.” Catherine’s outburst made her laugh a little.

“Nope, still working up to that milestone… In about three and half years.”

That information was just too good for Nick to pass up, “Damn, girl… You’re already an ME and you’re only twenty six?!” His Texas was showing through with that statement.

“I’m afraid I was one of those kids everyone hated growing up. And the overachieving thing just never seemed to leave me.” Stephanie noticed that they were both looking at her with curious expressions on their faces.

“Well, you should fit right in with this bunch… With the exception of me, I would say that describes every single member of this team.” For Catherine, that was a supreme compliment.

Nick was busy trying to gauge her height and then something in his brain clicked when he got to the name embroidered on her lab coat. “Hey! I just thoug-.”

He was pointing at her name and she knew exactly what he was going to say before it ever came out of his mouth, so she cut him off, “Don’t even go there, Cowboy… That name is reserved for my father, and I will not be happy if I hear it’s gotten around.”

Catherine, being Catherine, suddenly had an epiphany. “Hey Nicky, why don’t you go and get those reports from our boxes and I’ll meet you in the break room for assignments, okay?”

Nick looked from one woman to the other and shrugged, “Sure, Cath… See ya up there.”

Catherine watched him leave the autopsy room and waited until she was certain he was sufficiently out of range of their conversation before she started. When she turned around to the striking young woman beside her, she dropped her bombshell, “So, why hide your relationship to Grissom?”

This time it was Stephanie’s turn to blanche, “I ah, um, I, well…” She took a deep breath and realized that she was completely busted this time, “Well, that lasted all of half a day.”

Catherine gave her a puzzled expression, “Excuse me?”

“Sorry, I figured I had at least two weeks before it would get out… What tipped you off?” Stephanie returned to sitting on her stool.

“Well, the nickname actually… I recognized it.” Catherine shrugged off her question.

“You knew my father?” It was Stephanie who was confused this time.

“Only by reputation… And hearing Gil talk about his buddy back in San Fran. He really admired ‘Big Mac’ MacInnerney.” Catherine showed her the tell that got her busted.

“Right… I should have known Uncle Gil would have told YOU about Pop… Sorry, but I know about you from reputation, too.” She pulled the other stool over for Catherine to take a seat. “Look, I don’t suppose I can convince you not to rat me out, can I?”

Catherine thought about it a moment, “That would depend on why you’re trying to keep it a secret, I guess… Why are you guys hiding your relationship?”

“Well, I have this pathological need to prove myself… I gave up a full scholarship to a college just because my mother was a professor there… Moved to L.A. for Med School to get away from my father’s reputation. I even thought about using my mother’s maiden name when I decided to go into this field to outrun the comparisons.” She looked into Catherine’s eyes to make one last plea, “Hell, I would’ve never come to Las Vegas if it wasn’t for my fiancé getting into such a tough field of surgery. He didn’t match to anywhere in L.A., and Desert Palms was his best match. I even tried to fight it for six months, staying with the L.A. County Coroner’s Office and hoping he’d be back in another year. When it became obvious that wasn’t working, I put in my notice and started looking for pathology jobs out here.”

Catherine chuckled a little, “Well, it looks like your stubbornness paid off… You came out at the perfect time to get this job.”

“No kidding! Nothing like living your dreams… I’ve wanted to work with my Pop and Uncle Gil since I was a little girl. But what is that saying?” She looked into Catherine’s eyes again.

“’Be careful what you wish for, little girl; for you may surely get it.’” They both laughed that time, and Catherine laid a hand on the younger woman’s shoulder as she stood up to leave, “Don’t worry, honey… They won’t hear about it from me, I swear.” She gave her that motherly smile, and Stephanie knew she would keep her word.

“Thanks, I really appreciate that, Catherine.” And with those words, they had formed a bond.

Chapter 8

Everyone was sitting around the break room table for another round of assignments. Greg was even the first one there. After his sentence to the Supply Room, he had not been late for a single shift. They were all patiently waiting for Catherine and Grissom to arrive.

Grissom was still in his office and looking at his watch. Catherine was late, and he was getting ready to hand out the assignments without her. He gathered up the slips and his clipboard and made his way to the office door. He looked down the hall in either direction, hoping to see Catherine, but it was no use, so he headed off to the break room.

He had a lot on his mind tonight, and he just wanted to sit in his office and out of the line of fire, but as he went through the slips once more, he knew he would have to work a scene tonight. There was only one way to get through this night; do it as quickly as possible and hope for the best.

All eyes were on him when he entered the break room with his nose in his notes, “Warrick, you’ve got a possible suicide at the Golden Palace.” He handed the younger man his slip, “Nick, B&E in Spring Valley.” He held out the slip, but Nick had something to say.

“What? Am I the B&E King lately, or what?” He was obviously frustrated.

Grissom looked at him from over the top of his glasses, “As a matter of fact, yes… Take Greg with you and let him run the scene… You’re supervising tonight.” He moved his gaze to Greg when Nick proudly took the slip from his grasp. “And Greg, this is part of your next evaluation, so-.”

“I know, no screwing around… By the book, all the way… Got it.” Greg was now under the gun and it showed on his face.

Grissom returned his nose to the notes, not looking up as he put his hand out towards Sara with her assignment slip, “Sara, a smash and grab on the Strip. Shouldn’t take long, so you’ll be on standby the rest of the night.” He did not look at her, but continued going through his notes. Several moments passed and it vaguely dawned on him that it was awfully quiet in there. He looked up from his notes and around the room, finding only blank faces, so he figured that they were waiting for something from him.

Just before he dismissed everyone, Catherine sauntered into the room and was looking over his shoulder. He gave her a disapproving glance and then turned back to the team, “If there aren’t any questions, then move out.” Everyone pulled out from the table, gathered up their belongings and headed out of the room.

He waited for all of them to be out of the room before talking to Catherine. “Having fun?”

“Sorry, I got caught up in a new case… What’s left?” She was not going to let on that she knew his little secret… Not just yet, anyway.

“Well, the DA would like you to do some follow up on the Speedway case.” He handed her the slip and a note with it, detailing what they needed. “Go along with Sara and help her get the smash & grab put away, and then take her out there with you.” This task elicited a raise of her eyebrow.

“So, am I being supervised tonight?”

“No, that’s not it, Cath.” Grissom was being sincere.

“Are you on paper detail?” Even with his sincerity, she was still suspicious.

“No… I have to handle a scene… Death with suspicious circumstances, over at the Pike.” Grissom’s smirk told her everything.

“Right… Well, tell Dad I said ‘Hi.’” She hoisted her bag onto her shoulder, “I’ll be taking the long way out to the smash and grab then, just to make sure I’m not seen near his place.” Catherine knew that her newly public relationship with Sam Braun would affect her job eventually, but she still hated it. Dear Old Dad had too much real estate in this town for it not to affect the job.

Grissom watched her leave and felt a little guilty about having to exclude her from the case, but in order to maintain the integrity of the lab, he had no choice.

He grabbed his kit from his office on his way out to the parking lot, but was stopped abruptly by Sara as he exited the building, “Grissom, I don’t appreciate being handled… If you have a problem with my work, I expect you to come out and tell me.” The anger in her voice was a match for what he saw playing on her face, but he had no idea where it was coming from this time.

He shook his head in confusion as he spoke, “What are you talking about?”

“I don’t need Catherine to babysit me!” She set her jaw with her statement and Grissom could see the muscles in her temples twitch with the action.

“Who said she was?” He was totally confused, and wondered what on earth could make her think that was what he was doing.

“She just told me she’s coming along for the smash and grab and having me help her do some follow up for the DA’s office… What else am I supposed to believe?”

He took the same posture as before when he answered her, and just shook his head a little when he spoke, “That I have to keep her busy while I run a scene at the Pike, and keep her out of the loop because of a conflict of interest? I shouldn’t have to tell you how important maintaining the integrity of the lab is, Sara.” Sara’s face instantly flushed with his answer, but Grissom was still as confused as ever.

“I ah… I’m… Look, I… Okay…” She was completely flustered and could not think of a single thing to say to get out of it. She searched her mind for something; anything to respond intelligently to something that she clearly should have seen. But all the color drained out of her face when she saw Catherine walking towards them, and in a panic she just turned away and said, “I’m sorry,” so that he could not see the pain in her eyes.

She quickly walked away, leaving him to speak with Catherine, who had stopped to figure out what his dumbfounded expression was about, “Gil, are you trying to catch flies with that look?”

He snapped back to reality and answered with nothing more than, “Huh?”

Catherine just shook her head and laughed, “Nevermind… Must have been Sara.” And with that she walked away chuckling to herself.

The only thought that crossed Grissom’s mind was “I will never understand the female of the species.”

Chapter 9

The boys were sitting around the break room table, each with their paperwork in front of them, diligently working away the rest of the shift. For a change, they were experiencing a slow night. Each of them had gotten back from their scenes with minimal effort and all but Grissom had put their cases to bed already. Grissom was safely away from this room though, and so as boys are known to do, they were trading stories.

As Greg was relating a tale from his most recent trip to the clubs, Warrick sat with his head down and a cat-bird look on his face, only smirking from time to time to show Greg that he was paying attention to his little story. Once Greg had finished regaling them with his dance floor antics, his curiosity had gotten the better of him. “Hey War… What’s that look for, man?” He nudged Nick when he spoke to show him the cagey look on Warrick’s face.

“Yeah, Bro… Yer bein’ awful quiet tonight. Wha’cha got cookin’, man?” Nick was now curious too.

Warrick looked up from his report and raised his eyebrow at them both, “Not as much as you got, Bro.”

His cryptic response was directed at Nick, and he had no idea why, so he pressed for more information, “C’mon… What’s that about?”

Warrick looked back down at his report before he started speaking, “Oh nothing… I just had a real interesting conversation down in autopsy.” All the blood left Nick’s face with his friend’s statement. “Yeah, thought you might know ‘bout that one, buddy.” Warrick was laughing now, that deep, resonating laugh that could be felt more than heard by many people.

Greg’s curiosity was in overdrive now, “Oh, no you don’t… You gotta spill now, Warrick.”

“Spill what?” Catherine and Sara had just walked into the break room and Catherine made her way straight for the coffee pot. Reached over for her cup and then started to pour the brown liquid of life as she turned around, “Oh wait, from your silence, am I to assume you boys are having a little ‘guy talk?’” She looked at each of their faces, and although Nick and Greg both looked like deer caught in the headlights (a familiar sight for Nick today), Warrick’s expression was the most intriguing to her. He looked like he had a juicy secret and it was just busting to be told. “Warrick, anything you’d like share with the class?”

Sara, too, caught on to Catherine’s suspicions and joined in on the assault, “Yeah, War’… I’d be interested to know what has given you that evil glint in your eyes.”

He leaned back in his seat and raised his hands in a sign of surrender, “No evil at all, ladies… Just heard a real interesting story about our boy Nicky down in autopsy.”

Catherine laughed right out loud that time, and turned back to put the coffee pot down, “Oh, I think I already know this story.”

That was just a little more than Sara could pass up, “Oh, no. Now you better start talking… I gotta hear this one.” Sara sat down and crossed her arms over her chest to show that she was not going to budge on this one.

Nick shrunk back in defeat and Warrick just chuckled, “Sorry, Bro, but I just gotta do you bad this time.” Warrick returned to his forward position in his seat before starting, “You see… Seems Ole’ Nicky Boy managed to stick his foot in his mouth all the up to his hip socket before shift tonight.” He looked around the room to make sure everyone was paying attention, “Anybody else been down to autopsy tonight?”

The all shook their heads, but Sara was the one to speak up, “You and Grissom are the only ones with DB’s tonight.”

He nodded his head when he realized his mistake, “Right, so you guys knew that Doc Robbins was moving to days, right?” He waited for their nods before continuing, “Anyway, the new ME started tonight… And let me tell you, I can understand why my boy lost it down there, but the way he lost it was classic.”

Greg interrupted, “Who’s the new ME?”

Nick decided he might as well join in since he was going to be heckled no matter what now, “You remember that hottie that was getting the tour a couple weeks ago?”

“The one in Archie’s surveillance vids?” Greg leaned even further forward in his chair with his anticipation.

“Bingo… Well, those vids ain’t even in the same ballpark as the real deal, my man.” Nick leaned back, knowing that was his only argument for his actions, so he might as well sit back and enjoy the ride of his ridicule.

Greg was thoroughly impressed, and Warrick decided to push forward in his tale, “So anyway, seems Nicky Boy was unable to contain himself when he saw the new ME and pulled a construction style wolf-whistle at the honey.”

“Ohhhhhhhh!” Everyone in the room groaned out loud as Nick just cringed in his seat.

“I don’t know where my brain was, guys… It just came out of my mouth before I even realized it.” Nick was, once again, turning fifty shades of red.

“Sounds like typical male behavior to me, Nicky.” Detective Jim Brass was standing in the doorway to the break room and leaning against the door jam with his arms folded over his chest. He had obviously heard the whole story, so Nick was sure the entire department would know about his little escapade before long.

Warrick was the first to address the man, “Hey, Brass… Have you met the new ME, yet, man?”

“No, I can’t say as I’ve had the pleasure.”

Warrick shook his head, “Well, she knows about you, man… Came out from L.A., and I guess she knows your Lady Captain friend.”

Jim nodded his head and shrugged it off, “I can see that… Guess I’ll have to pay my respects.” He turned to leave, but then turned back to the room, “’Respects’, Nicky… Not cat calls.” And with a sly wink of his eye, he was headed down the hall and left the break room in another fit of laughter.

Nick was just going to have to resign himself to being the brunt of their jokes for a while. There was no way they were going to let this one lie anytime soon.

Chapter 10

For a week that had started out so well, it was not ending up that way. Stephanie had just posted her seventh body of the night, plus she had changed into her third set of scrubs and it was not over yet. She was just about to sit down at her desk to finally eat her salad when she leaned forward and reached over the desk for the notes from the last case to read over while she ate. And before she knew it, there was a loud clang on the tile floor. She closed her eyes tightly and winced, because she just knew that had to have been her salad hitting the floor and flying all over the place.

“Dammit!” She let out a huge sigh, dropping the report back on her desk and planting her elbow down so that she could properly grip her brow while she tried to fight back the urge to throw something: something heavy and loud.

“It can’t possibly be that bad.” Catherine said as she entered the young woman’s office, and then she looked down at the mess, “Or I could be wrong… Need a little help?” Catherine bent down to retrieve the bowl from her side of the desk.

Stephanie reached over for the trash can and brought it to the other side as she kneeled down on the floor to clean up the spillage, “Sorry, it’s just been one of those days, and-.” She gestured at her clothes, “I’ll be changing into yet ANOTHER set of scrubs… Lovely.”

Catherine could not help but laugh at the young woman’s predicament. “Well, I hate to add to the fun, but… You wouldn’t happen to have the prelim on my DB from earlier?”

She sat back on her haunches, let out another huge sigh and thought about her answer a moment before she spoke, “Cassen, twenty year old female, suspected OD?”

Catherine shot her a dumbfounded expression, “Yes, and how the hell did you do that?”

“Tsk… It’s a gift… And a curse. Once it goes it in, it never comes out.” She reached out to balance herself on the edge of her desk and peeked over the top of it until she found what she was looking for, wiped her hand on her top and grabbed the folder to hand to Catherine. “First off, you can forget about the OD… She didn’t have time.” She scooped up the last of the mess on the floor and deposited it in the waste can. “The seven cc’s of hemorrhaged blood I took out of the base of her skull is probably related to her COD.”

“You’re kidding me!” Catherine started flipping through the preliminary report to look over the findings. She soon found herself alone in the office, as Stephanie had already walked out into the autopsy room.

She called back from the autopsy room, “Yeah, I was pretty shocked, too. But David noticed an aberration in the skull when he was cleaning the body.” She noticed that Catherine had emerged from the office with the report in her hands and was listening intently, so she stopped speaking with quite so much volume, “It wasn’t soft, or showing any contusions or lacerations.” She was looking through the index of the drawers she was standing next to, “However, the occipital bone was avulsed, which was probably the result of some kind of childhood trauma. Since that’s the only time the skull could have been soft enough to produce an avulsion.” She found the one she was looking for, dropped the book and opened the drawer containing the body in question, “Might have even happened during childbirth, but without causing any obvious brain injury, it would never have been noticed. And I found no evidence of Cerebral Palsy, so that’s not going to help you at all.” She pulled the sheet back and found that Catherine was right next to her when she looked up, “I’m still waiting for tox to come back, but those pills in her stomach appeared to be nothing more than aspirins, and mostly undigested ones at that. I’m going to say, that judging from the rounding of her face, and the amount of fluid I found throughout her system, that she was high on high doses of a steroid. And it probably raised her blood pressure and caused the bleed.”

That was too much for Catherine, she just had to know how she came to that conclusion without a tox screen, “Okay, now how can you say that without a tox screen?!”

“Cushing’s.”

“Cushing’s? What the hell kind of answer is that?” Catherine’s face was contorted with incredulity and she had subconsciously thrown her hand to her cocked hip in defiance of this conclusion.

“Yeah, Cushing’s Syndrome? They also call it ‘Moon Face.’ Comes from high does of steroids, typically seen in people with some kinds of kidney disease. Usually at the point of kidney failure. Though I have also seen it in cases of chronic acute asthmatics, as well.” Her matter of fact diagnosis simply blew Catherine away.

She stood there shaking her head at the look on the young woman’s face. As though her conclusion was nothing special at all, “Well damn girl! Now I can see why Al was so hot to scoop you up.”

Stephanie was confused now, “What? I don’t get it.”

Catherine was laughing at the ridiculousness of the whole thing, “Oh yeah, you’re definitely related to Grissom. Blood or not, you are just like him.” Even though Stephanie did not understand why Catherine had made that connection, she still laughed, because she knew it was true. She and Gil had had whole conversations where no one else in the room had a clue what they were talking about, and more times than not, someone would make a joke that neither of them understood. They truly were birds of a feather in many ways.

“What can I say? I had my first bug collection at four years old.” Stephanie chose to join in on the joke.

“This is going to be soooo much fun having both of you working cases.” Catherine patted her on the shoulder as she shut the drawer and they started walking back through the Autopsy Room. “So, I take it that was your lunch all over the floor in there?”

“Busted.”

“Well, then why don’t you take a break and come get something to eat with me before the tox comes back?” Catherine had decided during that exchange that this young woman was someone she could easily warm to, and she had also noticed that she had not really left the morgue all week. Her maternal instincts told her that Stephanie needed a little push to get her out and about.

“You know what? That sounds like a gr-.” She was interrupted by the entrance of David, pushing yet another body into the morgue.

“Catherine, Dr. MacInnerney…” David shuffled past the two women and continued about his business.

She saw Stephanie visibly slump her broad shoulders, “Like a great idea for another night. Sorry, but it looks like I have some more work to get to.” She gave a faint smile, “Thanks for the offer, though.”

She patted Stephanie on the back and tilted her head to the side, “Don’t sweat it… I’ll pick you up something and bring it down… You can pick it up next time.” She added that last part with a wink and this time Stephanie had a genuine smile.

“That’s sweet… Thanks for everything, Catherine… It means a lot.”

As Catherine was walking out of the morgue she amended her earlier statement. Stephanie was not just like Grissom, she was better. Grissom would have never been able to admit something like that to a perfect stranger.

Chapter 11

The last day of her first week and her car simply did not start. She had known the old girl was getting up there, but had never failed her in all their years together. Sure, the car was starting to show some wear and tear; it was older than she was after all, had seen more miles than any ten cars, and was never what anyone would have called good looking. But that car had been a part of her family, and it was practically her older sister. That day, however, her sister was sitting lifeless in front of their townhome, and Stephanie still had to get to work.

She had been growing frustrated at work and she was not used to that feeling, so every little thing that had gone wrong that week was starting to wear her down. The car was just the last straw. She should have known, because she had just driven a thirty three year old VW Thing the nearly three hundred miles from L.A. to Las Vegas, stuffed to the gills with everything she owned and pulling a U-Haul trailer. But unfortunately, all of that did not matter at the moment, what mattered was that someone answered their phone so that she was able get a ride to work, and for the third time in a row Thomas’ cell had gone straight to voicemail, so she then started fumbling through numbers trying to find the surgical service’s number so she could have him paged.

She nearly jumped on the phone when it suddenly starting ringing, “Hello?!... Thomas, thank god. You got my message?... No, it’s not flooded, because it won’t even turn over, and the battery isn’t dead either… Of course I know the difference… Thomas, there is nothing I can do with the car, and certainly not an hour before I have to be to work… No, I know you’re just trying to be rational… I’m not in the mood to be rational… How long do you figure it would take me on the bike?... No, I know I don’t know the trails around here at all, but I was just going to take the same way I drive… I don’t know what the neighborhood is like, I only drive through it… Okay, okay, so I’ll take a cab… No, I was gonna hit the ATM on my way to work… Don’t you have any in the-… Well, I guess I could call him… Are you sure you can’t get away?... No, I understand… Let me try him and see if he hasn’t left yet… Okay, love you too… Bye.”

She hung up the phone and took a deep breath, blowing it out quickly before she looked down at the phone again. She hung up the receiver and pulled her cell phone from her pocket, dialing the number with great reluctance she punched the last key. She let out another deep breath as the phone started ringing. When the answering machine picked up the last of her hope started to fade. She waited until the greeting ended and decided to leave a message anyway, “Hey Uncle Gil, I was just calling to see if you hadn’t left yet. I was having some trouble, and was hoping to catch you before I-.”

She was surprised when the line clicked and she could hear him clearing his throat, “Oh man, you have no idea how glad I am you’re still at home.” Her relief at hearing his voice was unbelievable. “Yeah, I am in desperate need of a ride to work today… Yeah, my car is toast. I think the drive from L.A. may have been its last hurrah… I can be ready whenever you are… Yeah, fifteen minutes is totally doable. Thanks a million… See you outside.”

She quickly put everything back into her backpack, and went back into the kitchen and made another breakfast bagel to give to her savior. She grabbed another hard-boiled egg, sliced it and placed it between the halves of the toasted bagel along with the ham and cheese slices. Once she had the sandwich assembled she carefully wrapped it up in plastic, Stephanie put it alongside hers inside the lunch box. When she was putting everything else away she reached back into the fridge to retrieve another orange juice to go with the sandwich.

She looked down at her watch and realized she had better get out the door to wait for her ride. She had literally just closed the door behind her when the black Denali pulled up in their driveway behind the guilty vehicle. Gil was already out of the car when she turned around, “Well, no wonder you’re having car trouble, Stephie… I’m surprised that beast is still on all four wheels!” He was shaking his head at the humor of the whole thing.

“Hey, you’re talking about family, ya know,” she was trying to downplay her desperation, because she had not wanted to explain everything to him. The problem was, she was truly on the brink. A new job with a lot more pressure and responsibility, worrying about doing a good job before people found out who she was, living with Thomas full-time again, the wedding plans that were painfully overdue and now the car; it was a lot more than she ever thought it would be and it was starting to be too much. As he got closer to her she started to feel the weight of it all more and more. When he opened up his arms to gesture at the car she had finally lost all control and sunk into his embrace.

Gil was standing there in total shock, but for some reason his instincts had kicked in and he just held her close and stroked her back. When the sobs started he tried to talk to her, “Hey now… What’s all this about?” She just continued to sob and he reached over to the parked car, opened the door and moved her around to get her to sit down before her legs gave way. He took the handkerchief out of his pocket, crouched down in front of her and wiped away her tears before he handed it to her. “Okay, now let’s try this again… What has you so worked up, Princess?”

She sniffled one last time before she started, “I’m sorry, Uncle Gil… I really didn’t want to come unglued like this.”

He wiped a stray tear from her cheek and then tucked a finger under her chin to lift it up so that they could look eye to eye. “Some times, we just need to let it all out.” The wisdom of his words struck him as ironic, since he was probably the single most guilty party for holding everything inside. When she nodded her head in agreement he thought to himself that she was so much smarter and wiser than he ever was. “So, you want to tell me what brought all of this on?”

“I don’t want to make you late or anything, so how about we do this in the car on the way in?” She had begun getting her composure back and he nodded his head as he slowly stood up from his crouched position. He then held out his hand to help her to her feet.

Once they were safely in the Denali and on their way down the street he stole a brief look over at her and she let go of a deep breath. “Yeah, the story, huh?” When he tipped his head forward she chuckled, “Okay, well… It’s not really been the week I was hoping for, I guess. And I was really trying to handle everything and not make a big deal of anything, but with everything happening so fast and all, the pressure just got to be really bad, and then the car dying was the last thing I needed today.” She looked out the window as she continued, “I guess this is what happens when everything you ever wished for happens… All in the same week.”

Gil cocked an eyebrow at her last statement, “Everything you wished for?”

“Are you kidding?! Of course! I’m running my own autopsy room, I’m sharing a home with the love of my life, planning a wedding, and working alongside one of my childhood heroes… Not to mention putting the finishing touches on my first professional solo research paper for publication.”

“Wait, you’re being published? Why didn’t you tell me?” Only Gil would key on what most would have been considered the lesser of all evils.

“Sorry, I wanted to wait until I got the final word before I told you… Just in case they laughed when I presented the final product.” Gil had to laugh at her humility, because it reminded him so much of her mother.

“Only you, Steph… Only you.” He shook his head as he laughed, and then it dawned on him that she had said planning a wedding. “What wedding?”

“Huh?”

“You said, ‘planning a wedding.’ Whose wedding?” Gil was serious, and even though he was fairly certain whose wedding it was, he had to hear it from her before he could believe it.

“Whose do you think, Uncle Gil? Thomas and I both agreed that we would wait until we could be together before we started worrying about the actual wedding. And this morning we agreed that was now, so we called Mom and started making plans… I just had no idea how big a deal that was until we actually started talking about the plans. I’m really surprised anyone ever goes through with this stuff, Uncle Gil… I mean really, who needs those headaches?”

She was talking at a mile and half a minute, and it gave Gil a warm feeling as he laughed. “I think that’s one of the many draws of the Vegas wedding chapels.”

“Not with MY mother!” They both laughed that time. “And with work being so much more than I ever imagined it would be, and the wedding stuff still fresh in my mind, and Thomas having to leave early today, and then the car, which by the way is still the coolest car ever made, so you better take everything you said back, or I’m telling Mom.” She finally took a breath when she saw the informational sign telling them they were nearing the municipal center. “Wow… That actually feels a lot better… I hate it when Mom is right ALL the time.”

Gil was confused by her final remark, “What was she right about this time?”

Stephanie just looked at him with surprise, “Oh please! Tell me you don’t remember her always saying, ‘If you don’t talk about it, then how are you ever going to solve the problem?’”

They were both laughing again when they pulled in to the parking lot, “I remember now… And that reminds me about something else she used to say.” Stephanie looked him in the eye to hear what he had to say, “She used to tell me that I needed to stop now and then and take a good look around at what I had, or one day it would all be gone and I wouldn’t even remember what had been there in the first place.”

The faraway look in his eyes nearly made Stephanie want to cry again, but instead, she chose to do the one thing Gil was not anticipating: she leaned over in the car, kissed him on the cheek and said, “I love you, Uncle Gil.”

He blushed at her gesture, and gave her one of his crooked smiles. With one last deep breath, she opened the door to the Denali and hopped out with her backpack and lunch box in hand. Suddenly, she slapped her forehead and started rifling through her lunch box, “I almost forgot!” She pulled out a small paper bag and handed it to him proudly. “I made you breakfast. Toasted bagel with hard-boiled egg (minus the yolk, of course), a thick slice of lean honey ham and a slice of sharp cheddar cheese. And of course some O.J. and if you want to have the sandwich warm, all you have to do is pop it in the microwave for fifteen seconds.” The beaming smile she gave him as she described the well-balanced breakfast she had made for him before his arrival today was even better than the food she was describing.

Taking the paper bag from her outstretched hand, he bowed his head and said without any thought to anyone within earshot, “Thank you, Princess. Probably the best meal I’ve had in a week.” She smiled again and waved goodbye as she practically skipped into the building while he watched from behind the wheel of the SUV.

So caught up in the reverie of watching his first pupil bound away into the front door, there was one thing he did not realize: that two spaces away someone else witnessed the whole scene unfold. Someone with soft, curly, brown hair and deep brown eyes; glassy with unshed tears.

Chapter 12

Nick had convinced Sara to go down to autopsy ahead of him to help him out with the new medical examiner, but she was not happy about him passing off autopsy work on her. She had spent most of the week either in court, chasing dead leads on the smash and grab or working yet another burglary, so she had yet to meet the new doctor. Her shift had also started out bad (Beyond bad, she thought) before she had even clocked in and she did not think she would make the best impression after all of that. Plus, she hated being in autopsy ever since she had become a vegetarian, but for Nick, she guessed she would make the sacrifice and just hope for the best. She was happy to find out it was a woman though, because they were always outnumbered at CSI headquarters, so it was comforting to think the balance might have finally shifted.

She pushed through the doors and looked around the room for the doctor. When Sara did not find anyone in the immediate vicinity she figured that it might be good to announce her presence, so as not to spook anyone. Just as she was about to call out, David came through the double doors of the big cooler, “Oh hey, Sara. Did you need something?” it was obvious from his dress that he was on his way out the door for a pick up.

“Ah, yeah, David. Where’s the new ME? I need a prelim on a DB that came in earlier.” She looked around the room again casually.

“Oh, she stepped away for a minute, but she should be back any moment. You want me to stick around for the introductions?” David was peeking at his watch while he spoke with Sara, so she knew he was probably in a hurry to get to a scene.

After some thought, she decided not to take him up on his offer, “Nah, that’s okay, David… I think I can handle it. You can go ahead.”

He was visibly relieved, “Thanks… Catherine is very impatient and I’m not wanting to be on her bad side for next week, too.” David was already scuttling out of the autopsy room when he spoke the last words, leaving her to face the woman alone.

She stood there with her hands in her back pockets, rocking back and forth on her heels a moment when she heard a sound coming from the office. She craned her neck around to find the back of someone slipping on a fresh scrubs top, but when that person’s deep red hair popped out through the collar of the shirt, her breath was caught tightly in her throat and she was instantly nauseous. It’s HER!

Before she had even a split second to flee the room, the woman was suddenly out of the office and had called out to her, “Hey, if you’re looking for David, you just missed him.”

Sara had to think fast and she had to say something, instead of standing there like a deer caught in the headlights and her mouth hanging open like a beached trout. “Ah… Um.. No… Not looking for David.”

“Oh, sorry… I guess I just figured you were his fiancé.” She waited for Sara to speak again, and when the uncomfortable silence continued, she spoke, “So, is there something I can do for you?” She walked over to the silent woman who was staring at her like she had six heads, and zeroed in on her name badge as she got closer. “Sara Sidle… Oh, you’re another CSI… Night Shift?”

That snapped Sara out of her catatonia, “Um, yeah, Night shift… I was looking for the um… The ah.. The prelim on the ummm.. The Francosi case, d- do you have it yet?” Right about now, Sara wished she had a good stiff drink. She was sure she had just made a complete ass out of herself.

The doctor put her hand up to her forehead and rubbed at it, as though she was trying to produce the information from it, “Um, Francosi, twenty five year old female, suspected OD, right?”

“Ah, yeah, that’s the one. W-We needed to get the prelim so that w-we could get started on the case.” Sara felt like a complete amateur at that moment: like she needed to tell a medical examiner why she needed the report.

“Sure,” she turned around to the table behind her and fumbled with some folders. “A-Ha! Here it is.” She turned back and handed Sara the folder.

Needing something to do, Sara opened the folder and tried to start looking through the notes, without really reading them, just needing to look away from the very tall and very beautiful, auburn headed woman in front of her.

Stephanie figured the woman was just going to flip through the report there in the autopsy room, in case she had any questions off the bat. So, to keep herself busy, and try to get ahead of the mess that had been building in the morgue all shift, she sat down at the table and worked on another report. She knew that Catherine would be looking for her preliminary report from her first case of the night when she returned to the lab with her last one, so she wanted to have it ready before she started on the next body. Stephanie still had three bodies waiting in queue from when she came in tonight. Apparently the swing shift coroner had called in sick and she was expected to deal with it on her own. The only good news was that David had spoke with Dr. Robbins and he had mentioned that he would be coming in early to help her catch up, so she only had another three hours to tough it out alone. If only she could keep the bodies from piling up. David was already on the road to pick up the newest one, and she was sure that she would come unglued if Dispatch called her one more time tonight.

The only bright spot in her day was her drive in with Gil. She felt safe with him, and as soon as she took one look into his deep blue eyes her entire resolve had melted away, just like it would when she was a little girl. Uncle Gil had always been her ‘saviour,’ and today had not been any different. Perfect timing, as always. She realized just how much she had missed him (and her father) that night he had taken her to the airport on her first trip to Las Vegas. And with the wedding plans getting into full swing, she knew just what she was going to have to do, and now she just had to figure out how. As she was pondering everything that had happened, she reached over the table for the rest of her notes and became completely lost in her work, and totally forgot about the woman standing in the room with her.

Sara finally made herself focus on the report in her hands, and started scanning it for the cause of death. When she found it, she was dumbfounded. “Natural causes,” she whispered under her breath. “Hey, what’s with this COD?”

The young doctor did not even blink when Sara had asked her question, and that was getting under her skin. Was it not enough that this woman was taking Grissom away from her, but she was going to ignore her, too? Well, that was just something that Sara would not take lying down, “HEY!”

Stephanie was suddenly reminded there was someone else in the room and her head popped up to find the source of the sound, “Oh, sorry… Got caught up in it again, I guess… Did you have a question?”

“Yeah, what’s with the COD?” Sara was holding the report in one hand and had her other planted firmly on her cocked hip.

“Nothing… There just wasn’t any foul play. Unless you count bad genes.” Stephanie returned her attention to the report in front of her.

Sara was quickly becoming indignant, and started looking through the report for the toxicology results, “Where’s the tox report?”

“Huh?” Stephanie looked up again, “Oh, it ah... It hasn’t come back yet, but it won’t change the cause of death. She didn’t OD.” Stephanie was starting to feel like her skills were being called into question, and her bile was starting to rise.

“Doc Robbins does not give any reports without tox results… Just how new are you?” Sara sent a direct stab in the doctor’s direction.

“Excuse me?” Stephanie was doing her level best to maintain her composure, but this woman was coming perilously close to getting a what for from her. With her patience being on the jagged edge already, the last thing she needed was some investigator questioning her ability to perform her job.

“How on earth can you sit there and tell me that the COD is not an overdose if you haven’t even seen the damn toxicology report?” Every word that came out of Sara’s mouth dripped with her disdain of the woman before her, and she was in no mood to hide it.

Standing up from her chair, Stephanie had finally had enough of the woman’s inflammatory questions, “I’ll tell you what, when I see an ‘MD’ following that name on your badge, maybe then I’ll take the time to explain to you what I learned after four years of intense training in medical school, two years of demanding clinical research as a resident, and a year spent in the L.A. County Coroner’s Office posting eight to ten bodies a night… But until then, maybe you should just read the damn report and trust that an expert in her field knows more about cause of death than a frigging investigator!”

The look on Sara’s face was all that Stephanie needed to see to know that she had just crossed the line. And when Sara turned to walk out, Stephanie reached out and put a hand on her shoulder to make her stop. “Wait.” She let out a deep breath that she had apparently been holding, “Look, I’m sorry for blowing up like that… I’m having a day from hell, and I’m still adjusting to everything here and at home, so I probably should’ve stepped out before I went off like that.” Sara turned around, fully prepared to lay into the younger woman with both barrels, “And I’m really sorry for jumping down your throat like that… I’m sure Gil has taught you guys to question everything.” Hearing her use his first name like that made her heart contract, “If you could just give me a minute to pull myself back together, then I’ll be happy to-.” Before she was able to finish her last phrase, the phone was ringing on the wall, “Answer the phone, since it’s probably a ten car pile up on the freeway and-.” She slumped down and she turned towards the phone, “I’m never gonna get out of here today… Excuse me.”

She walked over to the phone and lifted the receiver to her ear, leaving Sara to hide the pain in her eyes and give her a chance to recover. “Autopsy… Oh, thank the lord! I thought for sure you were Dispatch telling me I had twenty bodies on the way… Just another day in hell down here… No, I didn’t miss the irony in that statement…” A smile spread across her face, “Yeah?... Well, I remembered how much you liked those sandwiches… And you drank the O.J. too?... Good, because I know you haven’t been eating right…” She giggled at whatever the caller was saying, “Yeah… Hey, I really wanted to thank you for last night… That was exactly what I needed…” She laughed outright, “Hey, you know what they say? It’s a stress reliever…” She was twirling the cord around her fingers absently as she talked, “Oh don’t worry about it… Well, if you’re still here when I get done… Yeah, and I’ll even let you make me breakfast this time…” That was all Sara could handle.

She knew exactly who was on the other end of that phone call and she just could not deal with listening to the woman’s mewling any longer. She had to get out of there. She just dropped the report and bolted for the door while Stephanie had her back to her.

She was moving so fast, she did not even see Nick exiting the stairwell when she ran headlong into him, “Hey there! Slow down, Sara… Where’s the fire?” She threw up her hands and could not say a word, so she just shook her head and continued carrying out her escape.

Nick looked after her until she disappeared with an utterly confused look on his face, which he continued to have as he ambled into the autopsy room. When he heard a woman’s voice talking, he looked around to find Dr. MacInnerney talking on the telephone to someone. At least she seemed to be okay, from what Nick could discern from her tone and body language. He decided that maybe Sara had just come across something that turned her stomach in the room. She did have some issues with stomach contents since she had become a vegetarian. And he had to admit to himself that he was never much for the stuff either, so he could not blame her for wanting to get out quickly.

The doctor hung up the receiver and turned around talking, “Okay, attitude has been sufficiently adjust-.” She looked perplexed when she found Nick standing there, but he just smiled, “Either I was worse off than I thought, or someone is missing?”

Nick laughed, “Ah… Yeah, I saw Sara boltin’ outta here when I showed up: probably just got somethin’ foul in her nostrils.” Nick obviously did not know what was going on and Stephanie knew that she was going to have to fix the situation before it got out of hand.

“Well, I guess we’ll just add that to the laundry list of other crap that’s gone wrong this week.” She blew out a breath and headed off to the body sitting on the exam table, “Sorry, if I don’t stop, but I have three bodies in queue and David is picking up a fourth right now. So, what can I help you with?” She reached the body and removed the drape to begin her examination.

“Oh yeah, no sweat… I was lookin’ for the prelim on the Francosi case?” He stepped in her direction, but was stopped by her arm gesturing at the table behind him.

“Over there, um, ah, that last person was asking about it… What was her name?” She squinted her eyes and put her forearm to her brow in her attempt to bring the name out, “Damn… I can’t very well apologize to someone if I can’t remember her blasted name!”

Nick looked from her to the report and back again, “Oh, you mean Sara?”

“SARA! That’s right…” She slapped her forehead, “Why are first names such a pain to remember?” She started putting her gloves on as she continued, “Yeah, Sara was in here asking about that case. All of my notes are in the prelim, as is the COD, the only thing missing is the tox report.”

Nick started flipping through it, “So, what’s the tox say?”

She shrugged off the question, “I have no idea; it hasn’t come back yet.”

Nick looked up from the report, because he could not believe what he had just heard, “Wait… How do you know cause of death without the tox?”

She let out an exasperated sigh, “One more time with feeling, Steph… Physiology is NOT just found in a tox screen… She presented with enough anatomical symptoms to confirm a definitive diagnosis.”

The doctor was obviously frustrated with his questions, but he got the distinct impression that it had nothing to do with him, specifically. However, her statement was not making sense to Nick, and so he scanned the report for the cause of death, but when he found it, he just had to ask another question and he struggled with the pronunciation, “What the heck is ‘hereditary hay-mo-chroma-tosis?’”

“Hee-mo.” She corrected the pronunciation, “Sorry, but I always use the proper spelling instead of the Americanized one. Hereditary Haemochromatosis is where iron is not properly metabolized in the body and contributes to an early and painful death when untreated.” She rattled off the disease name and layman’s description to Nick, while she began the internal exam of the body on the table in front of her.

“Hereditary? That would mean this girl was born with this thing… How could she go untreated like that?” Nick was scratching his head.

“Well, actually, it’s rarely diagnosed before the age of thirty, and for women, typically only when they become post-menopausal. Iron’s not shed from the body the way most minerals are. It’s used for blood cell production, so, unless you bleed, you don’t lose any iron. People with iron deficiencies are often suffering from other issues which contribute to the depletion of iron from the blood stream; most commonly cancer, since it feeds on the iron in the blood.” She had made her “Y” incision as she explained the disease’s pathology.

“Okay, I get that, but how do you make that call without a tox report?” Nick saw her face contort with her frustration again, and figured that she had probably already gotten into it with Sara, and that was what the problem had been, so he headed it off at the pass, “Sorry for all the questions, I’ve just never come across this one and we were totally sure it was an OD or poisoning. If I can understand your diagnosis, then I can be ready if I ever see it again.” He walked a little closer to her while he explained himself, in order to save her from having to holler across the room. “It’s kind of a thing around here… Learnin’ from your mistakes and all.” When she looked up from the body and saw his face, he was flashing a crooked smile.

“I get it… And I’m sorry if I’m being a little short right now… It’s just been a tough week all the way around.” She nodded her head and smiled back.

“Yeah, and having that sexist jackass start off your week with that scene probably didn’t help, huh?” That time she laughed.

“They’ve been riding you pretty hard on that one, huh?” She said with her head tilted down.

“Nah… No more than I deserved.”

She stopped what she was doing with the body before her and motioned for Nick to follow her over to the drawers. “Okay, Hereditary Haemochromatosis (or HH) is something that builds up over years and years and is most prevalent in men over the age of thirty and post-menopausal women of Northern European descent. And it’s actually pretty common; one and a half to three people in every thousand persons (I looked it up). It’s figured that ten percent of the American population contains the genetic mutation that causes it. Now, if you notice in the report, the liver and the spleen were both greatly enlarged, with the spleen sitting at nearly two kilograms (with a normal spleen coming in at around a hundred and fifty grams for someone of her build): very common in HH patients, since the excess iron is deposited in those tissues.” Nick nodded his head as she retrieved the body from the drawer and pulled the sheet back. “Now, if you’ll notice the areas of the face and the flexural folds; there is an almost metallic gray coloration in some places and her face is appearing almost like it was bronzed.”

“Yeah, we noticed the face, but Sara thought it might have been some of that fake bake.” Nick was really getting in to the information now.

“That would be a negative. Regardless of what they tell you, it does leave a residue and the swab came back negative for any foreign substances outside of Vaseline Intensive Care Therapy Lotion, or a generic thereof…” When his face told her he did not understand how she knew that detail, she explained, “Sorry, it is THE most common lotion used by bodies coming through autopsy, so I have the formula memorized.” They both chuckled a little, “Anyway, the bronzing or the gray pallor are signs of the liver being effected by the protein deposits. Okay, next, you’ll notice the cutaneous atrophy on her lower legs. That happens in more than a third of HH patients. Also, check out her fingernails.” She held up the young woman’s hand to give Nick a better view from beside her.

Nick shook his head and pointed down at the white lines in the fingernails, “Yeah, see those lines are what made us think maybe it was a unusual OD, or something that acted similar to arsenic.”

“Well, you were sort of right, it was just an OD of naturally occurring iron in the bloodstream… But, if you’ll notice, the nails of the thumb, index and middle fingers are concave, and almost spoon shaped, right?” She brought the hand even closer for him to examine it.

“Yeah, but she worked for a sheet metal company, so we didn’t even look at that.”

“Well, this is a classic symptom of HH, and a fourth of the patients have very prominent ‘spoon nails.’ Its technical term is a pain to pronounce even for me, so when you see that ‘K’ word in the final report, just remember ‘spoon nails.’”

“Got it.” He looked at her arms and pointed at the scaly build up of skin there, “So, I take it that ain’t some kind of reactionary problem with her work?”

“Good call. Ichthyosiform alterations occur in nearly half of all HH patients. It’s where there are these thickening patches of skin that get really scaly, like a fish (which is where the term comes from). It’s also accompanied with hair loss in more than half of the patients; most common in the pubic region (as we see with her) and in some cases, total body hair loss.”

Nick was still in awe at the diagnosis, but he was beginning to understand why the doctor was so sure of her conclusions. This woman appeared to have all the classic symptoms, except that her age made her very atypical, based on what the doctor had told him, “Okay, all that makes sense, but there’s no way this twenty five year old girl is post-menopausal, Doc.”

“Nice catch… When David was prepping the body, he noticed a scar in along the pubic cavity. Your vic had a complete hysterectomy; probably within the last year.” She pulled back the sheet some more to show him the very thin scar. “And whoever did it was good. I mean, without her hyperpigmentation, it would have been hard not to see that scar.”

Nick was confused now, “Okay, but why does that make the difference?”

“Cessation of menstruation.”

That did not clear up his confusion, “And?”

She laughed that time, “Silly boy… The only way to purge the body of the excess iron is to BLEED. The most common treatment for HH is phlebotomy, which is why it typically isn’t diagnosed in women until they are finished menstruating.”

It was Nick’s turn to slap his forehead that time, “Got it!” He flipped through the report a little more before he thought of something else that the doctor had said, “Hey wait a sec… You said it was most common in Northern Europeans, right?”

“Sure did.”

“Her name is Francosi and she’s got black hair… That would normally scream Italian to me.” He was just playing with her, but it was something that did not fit the classic symptoms.

“Yup, and when you see the wedding ring on her finger in the photos of the body, and notice the freckles on her body, you’ll be leaving a bigger red mark on your forehead.” She had a sly grin on her face, so Nick dug further into the report.

That was when he found it; “Parents: Margaret & Jonathan O’Brien, Residence: Belfast, Ireland.”

He looked up from the report sheepishly and just said, “Oh… Nevermind.”

Chapter 13

As he walked through the halls of CSI headquarters, Warrick Brown was trying to work through the evidence of his case. He had read something in the report in his hands that did not jibe with his running theory, which meant he was back at square one again. When he dropped the folder to his side and grabbed at his neck with the other hand, he was startled by the loud crashing sound of metal on metal coming from the locker room. What he found as he peeked around the corner was not an unfamiliar sight. With her head resting against the lockers, Sara Sidle looked to him like she was about to fall completely apart, and he knew of only one thing that brought her to that breaking point: Grissom.

“Hey, Girl.” As soon as he spoke those two words, she was instantly on guard and jerked her head in his direction. The look on her face confirmed his suspicions; she really was about to fall completely apart. When it appeared as though she was going to spook like a trapped animal, he knew he had to get her out of there, and fast. “Grab your stuff.” He did not ask her anything, he just commanded, and she followed. He casually gestured for her to follow him and once again, she obeyed.

He made his way through the halls with her right beside him, and eventually they found themselves outside of the building and standing beside her car. “You been burning that candle again, why don’t you get out of here.” Again, it was more of a command than a question, and again, she just nodded her head and complied. She was too far gone to resist Warrick’s help, and she was certain that she was about to break into a million pieces, so it also came at just the right time. If she had been in her right mind at that moment, she would have recognized that theirs was an extremely unconventional friendship, which had started with her investigation of the Holly Gribbs’ murder, but it turned into probably the best relationship she ever had. And if Warrick had thought about it, he would have said the exact same thing. Instead, she got in her car and left the parking lot, with Warrick blocking the sun from his eyes as he waved goodbye to her.

Once he was sure she was not turning around and coming back, he headed back into the building shaking his head. His and Sara’s friendship was not the kind of thing where they talked about everything, but it was more about silent unanimity. They were empathetic of one another’s plights and most of their communication was left unspoken. Sure, they joked with each other on a daily basis, but that was just their front, and the real secret to their friendship was the quiet understanding that passed between them in subtle ways. It was comfortable for both of them, and it seemed to work as well.

As he dropped down into the chair in the break room and slapped the report onto the tabletop, he realized how hard this week had been on him, too. They had all been pulling extra hours, simply from the volume of cases coming through their doors. Just as he was closing his eyes and leaning back in the seat to stretch his back and try to clear his head a moment, his ears told him that someone had walked into the room. He looked in the direction of the door and found Grissom peering in; he was obviously looking for someone. “What’s up, Doc?”

Grissom seemed shocked from his task and it took him a moment to be able to respond, “Huh? Oh, um, I was looking for Sara…” He looked down at the file in his hand and then around the room again, “I’m trying to decipher her notes in the jumper case from yesterday.”

Warrick now had to figure out how he was going to explain the fact that he had sent her home. And as he was grasping for ideas, Catherine nudged her way past Grissom and headed straight for the coffee maker. “Yeah, um, she was havin’ trouble keeping her eyes open,” Warrick went out on a limb now, “And Cath sent her home.”

When Grissom turned to address a shocked Catherine, Warrick did his best to motion for her to cover for him, and to her credit, Catherine handled it like a pro. “Yeah, well, the girl’s been working doubles all week. She needed to get out of here before she maxed out on overtime in the first week.”

Grissom looked confused and mildly irritated at Catherine’s assumption of his role as supervisor, “What are you talking about? I know we’ve been busy, but no one else has done doubles this week.”

Now it was time for Catherine to be irritated, “Gil, you really need to look at that schedule in your email every week…” When she saw that her comment was not registering, “Sara has been in court all week AND pulling her regular shift because she didn’t want to leave YOU short-handed.” She turned back to the coffee pot and finished pouring it into her mug before moving past a dumbstruck Grissom to take a seat at the table. “You really need to pay more attention to what’s going on around here, Grissom… Especially with your own people.”

After a few more moments of shocked silence, Grissom turned around and walked back out of the room. And once Catherine was sure he was gone, she kicked Warrick under the table, “Don’t you EVER do that to me again.”

Warrick was grabbing at his shin in pain, but he had to chuckle at the situation, “Sorry, Cath, but I needed some excuse for gettin’ her outta here… I don’t know what happened, but she was this close to losin’ it.”

Catherine sat back in her chair and blew across the top of her mug, “Well, we both know there’s only one thing that gets under Sara’s skin like that.” They just shook their heads and looked out the doorway at the ghost of a man that had only just left the room.

Catherine sipped at her coffee a moment, and Warrick took that as a sign to get back to his report. But he was pulled right back out of it by her next outburst, “Hey!” She put her cup back down on the table and leaned forward in a conspiratorial manner, “You can fix a car, right?”

He screwed up his mouth up into one of those sideways smiles, “I guess… Would depend on the trouble and what kind of car. You havin’ trouble?”

Catherine shook her head, “Oh, no, not me… The new coroner has an old car.”

He interrupted, “Oh yeah, one of them Things, right?”

“Yeah, you’ve seen it?” He just nodded with a smirk on his face. “Well, I guess the ugly beast was totally dead when she tried to take it to work today… And as you well know, she’s been having one seriously bad week.” Catherine added her own bit of attitude to the statement.

“Oh yeah… Nothin’ like starting a new job and havin’ it be THE single busiest week ever. How many bodies has the morgue posted this week, anyway?” Warrick knew it had been very busy, but he also knew that Catherine would have the body count.

She looked up, as though she were reading the figures in the air, “Ah, well when we started shift, it was up to thirty two bodies… And Steph had posted twenty two of them… But that was before shift started, so I think we’re up to like fourty for the week.” Catherine took another sip from her mug before looking over at Warrick’s shocked expression.

He shook his head, hoping the action would give him some clarity on those figures, “Are you serious?” His expression showed the severity of those numbers, “Man, that girl has some skills.”

“Tell me about it.” Catherine leaned forward again to ask him her favor, “So, think you could swing by her place after shift to take a look at her car?” Warrick sat back in his chair and thought about the request a moment, and Catherine decided to add one more thing, “”I’d hate to leave that poor kid at the mercy of a Vegas import shop, ya know?”

That made sense to Warrick and he thought it would also be a fine gesture for the young doctor to know just how much everyone in the lab appreciated her presence on the night shift. The fact was, he had been really worried about the new coroner coming on board and fitting in with this unconventional team of investigators and technicians. His fears were quickly erased by her fast work and insightful conclusions. She had caught something on each of his cases in the morgue that week that he had missed and he had been seriously impressed by her thoroughness and sense of humility. But it was when he witnessed her put Hodges in his place the day before yesterday, that he knew she was a perfect fit for this crazy place. As he considered everything that had happened in their lives lately, he realized that it really was important to work with good people, and he was going to do his part to make sure they felt welcome, “Alright… I’ll swing by there and see what’s up.” Catherine gave him that electric smile of hers, and Warrick played her with that humble kid from the streets grin, “At least give her something to take to the shop.”

Catherine sat back in the chair, content in the notion that she had done her good deeds for the day. Warrick took one look at her expression, and simply could not resist, “You don’t gotta look so much like your nickname, Miss Thing.” They both laughed at the thought, but it was true; sometimes Catherine really did look like a cat when she was pleased with herself.

She just shrugged her shoulders and said, “Hey, it’s hard to hide a purr.”

Chapter 14

It was just after ten o’clock in the morning when Stephanie submitted her last final report for the shift. “Thank God!” She had said as she was shutting down her computer.

David, upon hearing her exclamation, poked his head inside her office door, “Finished?”

She looked up to find David standing in her doorway with his jacket and case, “Oh yeah… And only a few hours overdue.”

David chuckled, “Great first week, huh?” She huffed her answer, “Hey, I do have some good news…” She perked up a little at his tone, “With that last case, you set the county record for most posts by a single person in a week.”

Stephanie gave him a blank look before answering, “You have got to be kidding me?!”

“Nope, Dr. Robbins was just commenting about it to the County Coroner. Busiest week ever in our shop, and you handled twenty eight out of fourty one cases.” David actually looked proud of those numbers, and Stephanie realized that he probably was proud, since he had assisted on at least twenty of those autopsies. About midway through the week, he had commented to her that it was unusual for him to get to assist quite that much, and she understood that he was also proud that she had placed so much trust in his abilities. The fact of it was, she had just assumed that things worked the same way here as they would in Los Angeles, where the assistants were on the same level as O.R. nurses and that was what they did. The only thing she thought that was different here, was that they did not have a budget for the pickup men they had in L.A. County. After hearing about that from David, she had questioned Dr. Robbins about letting him assist so much, but Al thought it was a great idea and that it would also be good for David to get that kind of experience. After all, David was still in school and was looking to become a full-blown medical examiner, he had not decided about the medical school angle just yet. Stephanie had decided that it was going to be her job to convince him that it was the way to go.

“So, you mean it’s not like that around here all the time?” David shook his head and laughed, “Well, that’s at least something to look forward to… A quiet week.”

“You’re going to regret saying that.” David was obviously feeling comfortable with Stephanie after their intense week, because at the start of their week he still had the appearance of a timid rabbit around her. Stephanie decided that if this was a result of their surviving a week like that, then maybe all the hell was worth it.

“You’re probably right…” She sat back in her chair contemplating something, ‘I shouldn’t have shut that down so soon… You don’t happen to know a good cab company?”

David looked confused, but tried to come up with an answer, “Well, Midtown is good, but why do you need a cab?”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you… The Thing became the Undead this morning.” She looked down at her watch, “And my fiancé has been in bed for about two hours, and my last chance for a ride left here about an hour ago.” She was resigned to her plight, and she had calmed down quite a bit from her earlier fireworks shows. She guessed that exhaustion did have some perks.

David looked around and at his own watch, “Well, I have some time before I pick up Sandy for lunch over at UNLV, so I could drop you off… If you don’t mind squeezing into a Honda, that is.”

She leaned forward, “Are you sure?”

David just shrugged, “Yeah, I don’t see why not… Didn’t you say your place is close to Desert Palms?”

She stood up and grabbed her bag, “Yeah, just a few blocks from the ER entrance.”

“Then let’s go, I always take the back way over there anyway, to avoid the traffic, and it takes me right past the hospital.” David smiled as she walked towards him.

“David, you have just made my day… It is a new day, isn’t it?” He nodded and they both laughed as they walked out of the morgue.

David had been right, Stephanie had fun squeezing into the Honda, but once inside the car she was fine, and they enjoyed the short ride over to her neighborhood. She had learned about David’s interest in the SETI project, and she had to admit, even though the topic was foreign to her, his enthusiasm was refreshing. She also had a chance to inject the seeds of encouragement for him to attend medical school and become a real pathologist. She truly believed he had what it took and medical school would be the ideal environment for his confidence and his skills to build.

When they pulled up in front of her home, she thanked him again, “David, you’ve been a huge help, and I hope your fiancé knows what a lucky girl she is.” He blushed at her compliment, “You have a great weekend, and I’ll be back in the trenches Sunday night.”

“Thanks, Dr, MacInnerney… And you have a good weekend, too.” She waved him off as he pulled away from the front of the townhouse. Once he was down the block, she could hear the sound of her baby’s engine revving up coming from the other side of the house, and she wondered how in the world Thomas had pulled that off.

She quickly unlocked the front door, went inside and dropped her things in the chair, making her way to the garage at the back of the house. She threw open the door and called out to him, as he was hidden behind the hood of the engine compartment, “Hey! Since when did you learn how to fix a c-.” She was stopped cold when the head that popped up over the top of the hood was not that of her fiancé. Instead, she found the smiling face of Warrick Brown. “Where in the hell did you come from?”

Suddenly, Thomas was walking up behind her with a couple of beers in his hands, “Is that anyway to greet the man who just resurrected that beast from the dead, sweetheart?” She turned to find the smiling face of her fiancé as he passed her to hand Warrick one of the beers in his hands as the other man made his way around the car. “Here ya go, man…” He turned back to Stephanie, “Take this one, I’ll grab another… I hear you need it more than me.” She felt the warmth of his lips on her cheek as he passed by her going back into the house.

Warrick took a drag off of the bottle and wiped the sweat off of his forehead with a rag before speaking, “Hey, girl… Catherine told me you were havin’ some car trouble. Figured I’d swing by and see if I could at least diagnose the problem…. Hope you don’t mind.” While he waited for her to respond, he took another pull from the bottle.

She finally got over the shock of finding a CSI in her garage and spoke, “Talk about having the worst and the best week of my life.” She shook her head, and Warrick laughed.

“Yeah, that seems to be a problem with our group. Must mean you belong.” They both laughed that time and that was when the tall, brown-haired doctor returned with his own beer.

“What’s the joke?” He asked just before he took his own drink and put an arm around Stephanie’s waist.

“Other than my week, and my car?” She leaned against him when she responded and when he pulled her a little closer, she put her head on his shoulder.

“That’s okay, babe… Weeks get better, and Warrick here has that thing sounding better than I’ve ever heard it sound in the seven years I’ve known you.” Thomas tipped his beer in Warrick’s direction.

She stood straighter at his mention of the car, “Yeah, I heard it when David dropped me off out front… What in the world did you do to my baby?”

Warrick shied away from her compliment and brushed it off with his hand, “Not much at all… Your carburetor was just clogged and I tweaked it a little, too. Other than that, I was actually surprised it wasn’t something big. You kept that thing running top, girl. Where’d you learn that stuff?” Warrick was duly impressed with the condition of the over thirty year old car.

She just shrugged it off, “Mom came of age before Women’s Lib, but she liked to hold her own, so she took some auto maintenance classes. She passed it on to me.” She looked at Thomas before continuing, “And it’s a good thing, because this one barely knows how to pump gas, let alone change a tire.”

“Hey now… I am a surgeon, you know.” The two had a private communication between them with their eyes, but they all laughed at her taunting. “Well, now that you’re here to entertain our automotive saviour, I’m gonna head off to bed...” He kissed her quickly on the lips and turned to go back into the house, “I have to make rounds at five o’clock, and check in on a patient who had bypass this morning, but after that, I’m yours.”

She watched him go back into the house and called after him, “Just as long as you don’t wake me up when you leave… Again.” They could faintly hear his acknowledgement of her jibe, but just barely. She turned back to Warrick, who was shutting off the car and closing the engine compartment. “Hey, Warrick… Thanks, man… This really means a lot to me; you have no idea.”

“Don’t sweat it… I figured it was the least I could do.” He was wiping his hands with the rag with no luck in getting all the grease and grime off.

Noticing what he was doing, she slapped her forehead, “Where are my manners?! Why don’t you come inside to get cleaned up while I fix you something to eat?” She walked back into the house and gestured for him to follow.

“Hey, don’t go to any trouble or nothin’.” He looked from side to side once he stepped inside the house.

“No trouble at all… I’m keeping you from your wife, and you just fixed my baby” She pointed over to his left, “Bathroom is there on your left. Hand cleaner, towels and such are under the sink.” Once she recognized that he saw which way to go, she turned and went into the kitchen, calling behind her, “I’ll have something ready for us by the time you’re done in there.”

She took out everything she needed to make them a couple of sandwiches and set to work. By the time she heard the bathroom door open, she was cutting the sandwiches in half and putting them on plates. Warrick walked in just as she was returning the last of the fixings to the refrigerator, “Hey, you made quick work of that.”

He smirked a little, and looked at his hands, “Well, I make my living figuring out the dirty details of people’s lives, so you learn a few things about getting the grime off at the end of the day.”

She sighed at his remark and looked inward for a moment, “Yep, everyday, you meet people on their worst day.” She looked back at him and into his eyes, “Kind of helps you keep things in perspective, huh?”

Warrick thought about it a moment, and it was in that moment that he realized this was a woman who looked at life in a way that few ever understood. The second thought he had was; she reminded him of what Grissom must have been like before whatever made him so closed off had happened. She was smart; genius even. He knew she was young, and had finished school early, but she was not just book smart, she had some wisdom too.

Before he had more time to think about it, Stephanie was inviting him to sit down and eat, “Come on, it’s more comfortable in the other room…” She looked back at the rustic table set up in the kitchen, “That’s the first thing I need to get rid of around here. That man has no taste in tables or chairs.” She ushered him into the living room and set their food down on the coffee table, “Thankfully, he at least knows living room furniture.”

Warrick had to stifle a laugh, “Yeah, well, guys only worry about the important stuff.”

“Men…” She noticed that his beer was empty and took the bottle from him before she asked, “So, you want another beer or something else?”

Warrick looked at his watch and then at her as he contemplated sitting down on the couch, “Ah, what’cha got?”

“Iced Tea, Lemonade, Apple Juice, Milk and I think I have ginger ale, too.” She called out from the kitchen behind her.

“Iced Tea would be great,” he called back. He was just about to sit down when something on the opposite wall caught his eye, so he crossed over to get a better look. There were a bunch of pictures on the wall, and he could trace the last several years of their lives in those pictures, but there was one picture in particular that stood out. She was smiling broadly, wearing a cap and gown with her arms around two men. One of the men was the one he had just met this morning (also in cap and gown), but it was the other one that had him reaching a hand up to his face in shock. Standing there, with an uncommon smile on his beardless face was Grissom. That was how Stephanie found him when she walked back into the living room and had to scan the room to find him.

“Oh crap!” Warrick turned to find her standing there in the entryway with her head hung down, “I completely forgot about the pictures.” She walked over to the couch to set the drinks down and then turned to face the music.

Warrick just shook his head in disbelief, but at the same, it just made sense, “I shoulda guessed that.” He met her eyes and they were filled with shock from his statement, “I mean, you two don’t look nothin’ alike and all, but you got the same brain. I guess I just never pictured him for a Daddy.”

She could not contain the laughter, and it burst from her like an explosion. Warrick was totally confused by her outburst, but he waited until she said something before he said another word. After a few moments, she appeared to have caught her breath and put a hand on his shoulder, “Gil is NOT my Daddy! Oh man, that really is funny.” She pointed to another picture of herself and an older couple, “THOSE are my parents. Gil was a co-worker and friend of my Pop’s, and he just became a part of our family. Heck, he’s been around so long, I’m not sure I have any memories without Uncle Gil in them.” She walked over to the bookcase on the next wall and grabbed another photograph, “This is one of my favorite pictures.” She handed him a picture of a fresh faced Grissom in a black suit and a much older man in a police uniform. “They had just gotten back from a patrolman’s funeral and I was testing the camera Gil had given me for my fifth birthday. Notice how the angle is a little off?” He did notice that he felt almost like he was looking up at them from the photograph. “Uncle Gil made me re-take it from a better perspective, because he said their height would be distorted and crime scene photos should always have proper proportions.” She held the picture again, “But that was how I saw them, and it was the picture I kept all these years. When my Pop passed away a while back, I gave Uncle Gil a copy of both pictures in a frame; one to see how they really were, and one to see how I always viewed them… They have always been bigger than life to me.” She carefully returned the prized photograph to the bookcase.

Warrick was still in a bit of shock, but now his curiosity was taking over, “So, why’re you two keeping your relationship on the down-low?”

She tilted her head to the side and gestured for him to have a seat on the couch, once he did she passed his glass of tea over and took a sip from hers, “Well, I got the job without him knowing, and I wanted to prove myself without anyone else knowing.” She took another sip from her glass, “See, people treat you differently if they find out you have connections. And it’s even worse when you work in the same field as your connections.”

Warrick looked out across the room, trying to process all the information, “So, I can see how you got the job solo: your work speaks for that one. But I don’t get why you’d hide bein’ related to Gris?”

She let out a breath quickly, “Well, it’s one of those double-edged swords, being his protégé opens some doors and slams other ones shut. Some people are going to accept me, simply because I was his ‘prize pupil.’ And other people, they’re either going to expect me to be him, or they are going to want to put me down because of him.” She looked him in the eye for her final statement on the matter, “Sucks either way, and I prefer to make my mark BEFORE anyone finds out the truth. Then, I get what you just did; ‘shoulda guessed that.’”

He had to admit, he would have been biased if he had known she was related to Grissom, and figured that people would base that bias depending on their general feelings towards the man. Warrick tried to imagine how he would have felt if everywhere he went in his profession, there was, not one, but two people for him to live up to or to live down for the rest of his life, and what he could imagine was not a pretty thought. “I think I can picture that. But you know it ain’t gonna last forever, right?”

“Oh yeah, I already blew it with Catherine the first day.”

Warrick had to laugh at that one. Leave it to Cath to sniff out the rat. “That figures.”

She was shaking her head, “I should’ve been more prepared for her, I mean, she is his best friend and all.” Warrick gave her a puzzled look, “Oh, Uncle Gil told my Pop and me all about Catherine when he first started working with her. Told us she was super sharp and came from a whole different perspective. Said she was teaching him more about the human element of things.” She chuckled to herself a bit, “Pop tried to tell us that he thought maybe Gil had finally found someone to make him happy, but Mom and I both looked at each other and went; ‘Nah!’” Warrick had to laugh about that one, too. He had always wondered if Catherine and Grissom ever had a thing, but he had never gotten up the nerve to ask either of them about it. “Mom and I both knew that the only way Uncle Gil would EVER settle into a relationship, was if he could find his intellectual and social equal, and she would also have to get his twisted sense of humor, and not have a problem with bugs. And Pop would always add, ‘She’d have to work with him, too… If she ever expected to see him, that is.’”

Warrick pinched his smile and looked over to the side to think about that one before he responded, “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

Chapter 15

Hodges was convinced his ship had finally come in when he looked up to find the new and incredibly hot medical examiner in the hallway outside his office. She appeared to be looking for something; or someone. He caught a quick glance in the mirror he kept hidden in his workstation to make sure he was just as impressive as he believed he was, smoothed out his eyebrows and snapped his jaw shut with a smile before reaching out to the beauty in the hall.

He leaned out of the Trace Room and called to her, “Help you find something, beautiful?”

Stephanie was stopped in her tracks by the offhand and unwarranted comment, “Excuse me?”

Hodges rested against the doorjamb and attempted to strike a Cary Grant pose, “You looked lost… Is there something I can do for you?”

Before she could lay into him, again, she found that CSI Sanders was there with something to say, “Hodges, are you smoking something again? If Dr. MacInnerney needed anything, you aren’t the man handle it.” He turned away from Hodges and flashed a boyish wink at Stephanie, “Besides, the Doc was looking for me, since I was the one who paged her.” He motioned for her to follow him. “C’mon, Doc… We got some questions on that Ponzi case.” Stephanie quickly searched her databank brain for the case Sanders had mentioned, but she was drawing a blank when it suddenly dawned on her what he was talking about.

“You paged me about Ponzi? I thought we had the full pyramid of data on that one already?” She wanted to make sure he knew that she was in on the scam.

As he led her away from Hodges’ leering eyes, he added, “Yeah, but we just need to make a little more sense from the data.” Once they were sufficiently out of earshot, he just could not resist, “Nice catch, Doc… I thought Grissom was the only one who caught those obscure historical references.”

She laughed at the humor of his comment; especially since it was Gil who had first told her the story behind the Ponzi Scheme of the 1920’s when she had questioned him about the case her father was working on regarding a pyramid scheme. She wanted to know what a pyramid scheme was, and true to form, Gil was there with the full historical record. “Well, let’s just say I am an avid reader and student of the game.”

Sanders just chuckled, “So, now that Hodges the Horrible is out of the way, can I help you find something?”

“Actually, yeah, I was looking for Gil and he wasn’t in his office.” Stephanie was actively looking around the lab as she spoke.

Greg was a little surprised to hear her use Grissom’s first name, since he had only ever heard Catherine and Brass do that, and they had both known him for years. He decided that there was a mystery there for him to solve, but for now, he would play along, “Oh, um… He was here a little while ago, but I was in electronics with Archie and-.”

“Probably wasting the taxpayer’s money… Where is your report, Greg?” Grissom had appeared behind them as they were walking.

“My report is ah… Well, it’s….” Greg floundered as he struggled to provide a good reason for his lack of completion.

“On my desk before another hour passes, right?” Grissom shot him a raised eyebrow and Greg simply nodded and took off in the opposite direction.

“Such a taskmaster, you are.” She winked at him and waited for him to stand at her side.

He gave her his disapproving glare before he spoke, “You were looking for me?”

“Oh yeah… I have something for you, and thought you’d want to see it ASAP.” She handed him a folder as they walked towards his office.

He placed the folder on top of the clipboard he was carrying, opened it up, and they continued on their path to the office. They were just a few steps away from the door when he stopped flat, “So this means that-.” He looked up at Stephanie.

“You got it… It couldn’t be any clearer than if it had been tattooed on his forehead.” She gave him an impish look with her comment.

He raised his eyebrow at her off-hand comment regarding the stabbing victim case they had been processing. They had not had much luck in determining what the weapon had been, but they had both found an unusual discoloration at the site of the wound and were hopeful it would lead them in the right direction. As he glanced at the report once more, he saw that the discoloration was actually tattooing ink and the photos of the tattooing equipment she had found matched the wound pattern perfectly. He was impressed that she had followed her own instincts and traced down the weapon on her own. He guessed that she was a lot more like her father than he had counted on, and having her in the morgue was going to be an obvious advantage for all of his team members.

As they walked into his office he simply could not resist making his own comment, “That would make this a whole new form of lethal injection.”

She casually put her hand on his forearm as she laughed. “Nice… Well, I just wanted to get you the results as soon as I could. I heard you were under the gun from the Sheriff.”

He took a seat behind his desk while she looked around at the various items lining the shelves in his office. “That is not news.” Stephanie chuckled at his remark.

“Well, that figures. You spend all your time on the case instead of worrying about your professional career.” She moved across the room and sat down on the edge of his desk while he continued to read the full report, “Pop always said you were going to be the most brilliant forensic mind ever to be banished to academia for being a political kindergartner.” Her last comment finally pulled him out of the report.

He looked up at her from over his glasses. “Your father was a wise man,” he shrugged. He sat back in his chair and took his glasses off. “However, I would rather get things right and look bad, than look good and get the details wrong.”

She laughed at that one, “Gil, do you honestly believe you can’t expose the truth and improve your professional standing at the same time? They are not mutually exclusive activities.” He shrugged off her question, but she was not letting him slide this time, “You really are stuck in your own head… You need a girlfriend.”

That time he could not contain the laugh that escaped his lips, “That is your mother talking.”

Stephanie shook her head as she laughed at his joke, “Not this time, Gil… I’ve been here for two weeks now and I have literally witnessed you NOT being on the job for only three hours in that time. And I had to drag you kicking and screaming to go to dinner with me and Thomas to give you that time.” She gave him a more serious look, “You need to spend a little bit more time in the world, instead of reading about it.”

He smirked at her comment, but he was unable to rebuke her; she was right. Gil Grissom had spent most of his life reading about the great things other people had done, reading about the great things they had experienced, and reading the great things they had written in the name of passions he had never experienced himself. And here before him was this amazing creature; fearless in every way, showing him just what life could be like, if only he was willing to risk it all. “Yes, well, we all have our eccentricities. And right now, I am trying to figure out why you came up here to find me. I thought we weren’t letting anyone know about us.” He raised his eyebrow with his questioning statement.

“Yeah, well, it seems that most people have already figured it out.” She shrugged off his questioning look. “Last straw for me was when Captain Brass came to see me this morning. I guess he put two and two together after he talked with a mutual friend in L.A.” Gil raised an eyebrow. “Old buddy of his in New Jersey is a captain in L.A. now, and we served on a leadership committee together. I guess he had talked to Annie and had gotten the full scoop. So, with so many people knowing about us, I just couldn’t see keeping up the distancing crap.” He shook his head, and it did seem logical.

There was one thought that crossed his mind as he resigned himself to people knowing more about his personal life. “Who else knows?”

The look on his face was priceless, and Stephanie could not help but laugh at the humor of the situation. It would appear that his friends had even kept their own knowledge of their relationship a secret from him. “The usual suspects, of course…” She held up her hand and raised her thumb, “Brass obviously,” the index finger was next, “Warrick,” middle finger came next, “Catherine,” the ring finger followed, “David,” the pinky wiggled up, “Al,” the pinky folded in half, “Sofia,” the ring finger folded next, “Vartann,” next came the folding of the middle and index fingers, “and Wendi and most likely Greg.” As Grissom followed the count in his head, he realized that Stephanie had counted using the standard ASL numerals and mused to himself, When did she learn ASL?

“Wendi and Greg?”

“Yeah, they both went to Stanford… Mom was Wendi’s advisor, and I’ve known her for years. I figure it’s only a matter of time before she and Greg shared info, since she knew he went there, too.” She just laughed at his expression of shock.

“Okay, I get most of those.” He shook off the confusion, but had one more question. “But how did Sofia and Vartann figure it out?”

She shrugged her shoulders, “That would be Thomas… He drove my car to work last weekend and I guess they were questioning him in the parking lot about a patient, recognized the car and got him talking… Sofia put the rest of it together from there.” She was absently pulling a paper clip apart as she spoke, “She’s a really bright lady, Gil… Someone you might consider?” She was trying to be coy, but the smirk on Grissom’s face was her only response. She feigned innocence and made one final remark as she handed him the paper clip which was now twisted into the crude form of a butterfly, “Hey, can’t blame a girl for trying to figure out what you want, right?”

They were both laughing at the joke and completely missed the failed entrance of another woman to his office. Upon hearing the private admission to Grissom, she had immediately plastered herself to the opposite wall, and well out of sight. Once she had caught her breath, she was moving fast down the hall, and struggled to hold back the tears as she made her escape.

Chapter 16

There was no escaping it tonight: Sara Sidle was going to have to go down to autopsy. She had managed to avoid the place all week, and thankfully, everyone had assumed she was still cooling down from her run in with the new coroner the week before. If they only knew, she thought to herself. However, even that excuse was getting a little old; especially when the coroner had sent her an apology in the form of an enormous arrangement of flowers. Sara knew that she would have to deal with the woman soon enough, but she had been hoping to get a better handle on her emotions before that happened.

Things had been going so much better with Grissom, so when Sara learned of the longstanding relationship between him and the new ME, she was in complete shock. She had to admit that Grissom seemed very comfortable with the younger woman, and he also had been much happier since her arrival. Sara just wished that she had been the reason for his happiness.

As she walked down the stairs to the morgue she mourned for the loss of the opportunity to be with Grissom, but she also chastised herself for making wrong assumptions. She had always assumed that one of Grissom’s biggest hang-ups about a relationship with her had been their age difference. Having met Dr. Stephanie MacInnerney, she realized that was not case, since Sara easily had five or more years on the young pathologist.

No, Sara had decided that Grissom was more shallow than she had originally thought. After all, each of the women he had been linked to were all exceptional beauties; classically beautiful women. First there was the anthropologist; the sultry blonde with the gentle soul, intelligence and calm Sara wished she had. Then there was Lady Heather; by all accounts a ravishing beauty who was able to match Grissom point for point when it came to classical literature. And then came Sofia; the sexy, passionate and intelligent former CSI, turned detective. Each of them had exceptional traits, both physically and mentally. Grissom was obviously attracted to gorgeous, intelligent women who were all larger than life, and by default Sara assumed that his lack of interest stemmed from her just not being one of those kinds of women.

This latest woman was no different; Dr. MacInnerney was young for a doctor, having finished school early. Greg had even referred to her as a genius, and after reading her reports from the last two weeks, she had to admit that it was very possible. But it was her beauty that struck everyone who met her. She was taller than most of the men around the lab, so when she walked into a room or down a hall, everyone noticed. When she stood up, it was impressive and intimidating, and she used it to her advantage; Sara had already gotten a little taste of that during their first meeting. And not only was she tall, there was nothing gangly or awkward about her height. Instead, the woman was obviously very athletic: the delicate definition of the muscles on her arms was a strong indicator of her physical conditioning. She had heard from Warrick that the woman once played collegiate basketball, so she was obviously in very good shape. However, it was probably her hair that most people remembered and commented on, as it was the absolute perfect shade of auburn. The color was deep and rich and it caught your eye immediately as it sparkled in any setting. She kept it at a shorter length than most people would, but the curl in her hair gave it so much body, that it did not appear to be too short. And to match that luscious red hair, she had the deepest green eyes Sara could ever recall seeing before. They shined like precious gems when she spoke or smiled, and even Sara was stricken with their unfathomable clarity. Her smile would probably be the other thing that people were smitten with, and it was most definitely a strong asset. Sara imagined she had undergone a lot of orthodontia to get a smile like that, but the fact was, it was only Sara’s jealousy that told her that, and the woman probably just had good genes for teeth. Finally, Sara thought, her skin was also striking. She had the faintest of freckles across the bridge of her nose but the rest of her skin resembled that of the finest porcelain dolls. To top it all off, Sara had surmised that the woman did not wear even the smallest trace of makeup. She was naturally beautiful in every sense of the word.

As she listed off each of the woman’s physical attributes in her head, Sara realized that it would be impossible to even dream of competing with someone like that for Grissom’s affections. Because, although she was a stunning beauty, she was, more importantly, Grissom’s equal (if not his superior) intellectually.

So, Sara Sidle had resigned herself to finally getting over Gil Grissom. She had made that decision, and the only thing she had left to do at that point was to follow through on her decision. To that end, Sara figured it would be easier if she could just avoid the two of them at all costs. She could deal with the situation a lot better if it was not being shoved down her throat at every turn. She had asked to adjust her schedule; using some lame reason for needing time off during the week, which gave her two days of uninterrupted avoidance of the new couple.

Since it was Saturday, she was safely headed off to Autopsy, sure that she would find the weekend guy slowly processing her DB. The weekend guy was slow, and he was sloppy, but he was not involved with Grissom, and that made him a much better choice at that moment in time. Pushing through the doors into Autopsy, she found Ricky, the weekend assistant, as he closed one of the drawers. “Hey Ricky.”

Ricky looked back at her with a worried expression on his face, and motioned for her to lower her voice, “Shhhhh…” Ricky looked back in the direction of the office.

Sara lowered her voice, but she did not understand the point of the exercise, “I don’t think the DB’s can hear us, man.”

Ricky laughed off her joke, “Nah… But the M.E. can.” He pointed towards the office, “Catching a few Z’s before the next one comes through.”

Sara scrunched up her face into a question mark, “Since when do we give the M.E.’s nap time?”

Ricky laughed again, “When they’ve been here for fourty nine straight hours… That woman is an animal!” He was still whispering and had turned back to the office, to make sure he had not woken the woman on the other side of the glass, so he did not see the terrified expression on Sara’s face.

When he turned back to face Sara, she had to think fast, “So, why has she been here that long?”

He just shrugged, as though he thought everyone already knew what was going on, “Well, she was covering for Doc Robbins anyway, since he had some conference this weekend… And they both had been covering for Doc Polaski all week, since his wife had an emergency delivery Monday… And last night, Travis walked out, so she got stuck in here with a gang shootout to sort through.” He looked back again, just to make sure his talking had not disturbed the woman. “Hell, she’s on her fifth assistant since she clocked in Thursday night! I can’t figure out how she’s still alive. ‘Bout an hour ago the County Coroner called and said he got Desert Palms Pathology to pick up some slack, so she’s only got the critical cases until Doc Robbins flies back from his conference in the morning.” He explained everything to a still dumbstruck Sara and failed to notice the stirring in the next room. So, to say he was shocked when the raspy voice emerged behind him was an understatement.

“And it won’t be soon enough.” Sara and Ricky both nearly came out of their skins when Stephanie croaked those words. The doctor rubbed at her face, as though she were trying to restore the circulation to her face with her hand, “What can I do for you, Ms. Sidle?” Obviously the woman had taken Sara’s avoidance this week as a sign she was still angry with her for their altercation. She was going to have to fix that before it became the elephant in the room no one talked about.

Before Sara could respond, Stephanie began a yawn that had obviously come from her toes, and as the yawn concluded she stretched her whole body upwards, and though she thought it was impossible, Sara was sure that the doctor looked even taller in that gesture. “Sorry about that… Kind of rude, but the only way I’m staying up right now.” And she launched into another mega-yawn, though this one was accompanied by the rubbing of her brow as the air escaped her mouth.

“Oh well… I didn’t mean to-… Well, you know wa-…” Sara took a deep breath and attempted to calm her nerves. When she found her resolve, she spoke again, “Sorry, I didn’t realize you had gotten stuck here this weekend. I was just looking for the report on the case I’m working…” She remembered how the doctor recalled her patients, so she recited the information back to her in that format, “Taylor, fourty six year old male, probable drowning?”

Stephanie nodded her head in acknowledgement, since she was entrenched in yet another yawn. She turned back into the office and re-emerged with a folder in her hands, “Here ya go… It’s all there.” The doctor walked back into the office and Sara could hear the sound of glass against porcelain as Stephanie poured herself a cup of coffee. When she came back out drinking from the mug, Sara and Ricky both could tell the taste was not what she was expecting.

“You okay, Doc?” Ricky asked with some concern.

She was still visibly wincing from the taste of the black liquid, “Did we replace the coffee with motor oil at some point?” She reached up to her mouth and spit something out into her hand, “And gravel?”

Ricky slammed his fist into his hand, “Dammit! That freaking coffee maker is a total piece of shit. That’s the second time this week it’s gone out.” He went into the office and grabbed the coffee pot, carried it into the Autopsy Room and poured the contents out into the waste sink. Sara could see chunks of foreign material falling out over the rim and had to wince herself.

When she turned to avoid the sight of the coffee pot being emptied, she saw Stephanie absently about to take another drink from her cup, so she reached out and put her hand over the cup as she attempted to remove it from the M.E.’s grip. “Oh man… Don’t drink that.” She handed the cup to Ricky who crossed the room again to empty the contents of it into the sink. Sara could not believe what she was about to do, but it seemed like the only logical thing, under the circumstances, “C’mon… I have a fresh pot of some of Greg’s secret stash that should be ready by now.”

Barely able to put two thoughts together at that moment, Stephanie was easily led out of autopsy, “I just need something to hold out for six and a half more hours on… Nothing special.”

“Well, then you’re in for a treat, because Greg has the best coffee in the place. And what he doesn’t know can’t hurt us.” The doctor made a noise that could have been a chuckle, if she had not been so exhausted.

When they reached the lab break room, Sara guided the doctor to sit in one of the chairs, and then she went to the sink to clean out a cup for her to use, and her own cup as well. Sara returned to the table with two mugs of hot coffee and tapped the doctor on the shoulder to get her attention so that she could pass her the mug. Slowly looking to her side, Stephanie found a steaming mug of coffee at her left shoulder and reached around to take the cup and cradle it between her hands. She blew across the top of the mug and then inhaled sharply to get the odor of the mystery coffee into her nostrils in the hopes that it would trigger some association with being awake in her brain. She was pleasantly surprised by the aroma of the coffee in her hands, and decided this might have been the best idea she had heard in the last (she mentally counted back the hours in her head for a moment) fourty nine hours. She blew across the top one more time, taking in the aroma once more before she dove in and took her first taste of the consciousness sustaining fluid.

The amazing taste of the coffee in her hands was enough to give her a moment of clarity. She was in the lab break room, having coffee with the one person she had not been able to create a positive working relationship with yet. Then she remembered Hodges. Well, leeches don’t count as people, she thought to herself. She was unable to hide the chuckle that escaped when she had that thought and Sara had an inquisitive look on her face.

“Something funny about the coffee?” Sara tried to be calm when she spoke, and she found that it was not as hard as she would have thought.

“Not the coffee… Just thought to myself, that I must be completely exhausted out of my mind, because I was sitting down having coffee with the one person who’d like to see me roasting on a spit, and that this stuff could have been poisoned.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Stephanie realized that not only was she tired beyond belief, but that she had just unleashed her dark humor on an unsuspecting and probably undeserving woman.

Sara nearly choked on her coffee in her bid to keep it from spraying all over the Break Room. She cleared her throat and then responded from instinct, “Roasted on a spit might be a little harsh, poisoning a little too gentle.” When she felt the other woman’s eyes on her, she turned her head slightly and raised her eyebrow to its unbelievable height.

That was when they both burst out laughing, with the tension draining from each of them with every breath. Sara was overcome with a sense of relief in the act itself. She had been burying everything for days now and it had been eating away at her soul. Everything she had heard about this woman made her think that under different circumstances she would have been interested in getting to know her better, but the green-eyed monster had prevented that from coming to pass, until now.

Stephanie was the first to speak, “Look, I know I was a total jerk last week, and really am sorry for the whole mess. I hope this means that we can get past that…” She sat back in her chair as she attempted to form another thought.

Sara had beat her to the punch, “You aren’t the only one… I have something of a reputation for overreacting, as I am sure you’ve heard, and I guess it was just hard to get past that.” She took a deep breath and knew in her heart that what she was about to say was important and needed to be done, “And if you can forget that I am a cast-iron bitch, I can forget about the hot-headed, total jerk thing… Deal?”

Stephanie let out a deep sigh before she answered, “That’s the best idea I’ve heard all week…” With the removal of the regret from their first meeting, and the stimulation of the coffee, Stephanie had to add one more thing, “And I never thought you were a cast-iron bitch… Aluminum, maybe.” The two women shared some hearty laughter and enjoyed their coffee.

It was not long before the two began to talk about everything that had gone on in the lab that week, their professional backgrounds, where they had worked, what their goals were, and their theories about certain evidentiary practices and procedures. Sara regaled her with stories about the others in the lab, tried to warn her about Hodges and gave her tips for dealing with a few of the more challenging men in the office. That was when the topic rolled into Stephanie’s various altercations with Hodges over the last two weeks. She had told Sara about the incident down in autopsy that Warrick had walked in on, and how if he had not walked in at that moment, she was about to shove the infuriating little man into one of the drawers and walk away. Sara had to agree that it probably would not have done any good.

By the time Stephanie was paged to return to the morgue, more than an hour had passed, and they had gone through two pots of Greg’s best coffee. Sara could not believe that she had spent all that time talking with the woman who had just taken Grissom away from her. But she had to admit that Stephanie was an amazing woman, and no matter how much she might want to hate her because of what she represented, she simply could not hate this woman. Stephanie was intelligent, kind, funny, morose, quick-witted, sarcastic, positive and damn talented. She knew in that moment that they might not be the best of friends, simply because of the situation they were immersed in, but Sara was not going to make her an enemy either.

As Stephanie made her way down to Autopsy once again, she was struck with an odd revelation. She had just spent nearly two hours with Sara and not once, in any of their stories or ramblings had either of them mentioned Gil. Stephanie could not recall if she had tried or not, just that the topic never seemed to get around to him. In fact, she was quite certain that a couple of times the conversation may have been steered away from the topic by Sara. She made a mental note to talk to Catherine about this revelation when they met at the diner before shift tomorrow.

Chapter 17

Catherine took a seat in her usual booth at the diner and prepared to enjoy her meal alone. She had made plans to meet Stephanie for something to eat before their shift tonight, but when she checked in at the office before heading over to the diner, Catherine learned that the new medical examiner had pulled a marathon shift over the previous few days, so she expected the young woman to be spending the night recovering at home. The waitress had already brought her some coffee and taken her order, and Catherine decided the quiet would be a welcome change tonight.

The last couple of weeks had been jam-packed with activity and new developments; the greatest of which was the arrival of Dr. Stephanie MacInnerney. The vibrant and incredibly sharp young woman had immediately impressed Catherine with her intelligence and quick wit. She also realized that Stephanie had most of the males in the department on their ears with her striking beauty. Catherine had found in the young doctor someone she could relate to in a way that she had been missing in her recent life. The girl was bright, but she was also brash, and Catherine felt in her a kindred spirit. Even at their first meeting, Catherine knew that this woman was someone she was going to enjoy getting to know. And when she learned about her connection to Gil, it made it all the more tantalizing to learn more about this new woman. What she had learned so far was that Stephanie had fast become a good friend as well. They shared a great many things, including their desire to look after the one person they had in common. As she sipped from her coffee cup, Catherine smiled one of her most feline smiles.

“Well, that look makes me think you’ve got something going on.” Catherine was shocked out of her introspection by Stephanie’s sudden arrival. The young woman signaled to the waitress as she scooted across the seat and took her place in the opposite side of the booth from Catherine.

“What the devil are you doing here?!” Catherine was completely surprised to not only see the young doctor, but to find her wide awake and apparently cheerful.

“Weren’t we meeting before shift tonight?” Stephanie gave her a puzzled expression, but before Catherine could respond, the waitress arrived.

“What can I get you, honey?” The ancient Vegas waitress croaked her question as she poured Stephanie a cup of coffee.

“Ahhh.. Scrambled egg whites, whole grain toast, orange juice, fries, sausage links and a fruit bowl?” Stephanie looked up at the woman and smiled at her with a warmth the veteran waitress was not used to, and she was so caught up in it that she smiled back.

“Alright, honey… Comin’ right up.” She even patted Stephanie on the shoulder before she walked away chuckling to herself. Stephanie seemed to have that affect on everyone.

Catherine shook her head in disbelief, “How in the world can you be so perky after pulling a fifty plus hour shift that ended what… Thirteen hours ago?”

Stephanie took a sip from her coffee cup and smiled before answering. “That’s easy… Nine hours of sleep, an hour of fantastic sex,” Catherine practically choked on her coffee, “resolving one of my biggest problems in a single revelation, and FINALLY putting to rest the problems with a coworker yesterday. Makes the next day one of the best ever.” It was Stephanie’s turn to take on a feline expression of satisfaction.

Catherine smirked at the young woman’s explanation, “Well, whatever it is you’ve got, would you please bottle it and give me some? I would still be trying to unscramble my brains after pulling that kind of a shift.”

“Follies of youth?” Catherine’s expression of unwanted surprise was enough to elicit a laugh from the younger woman. “Sorry, I use that joke a lot… Happens when you’re always the youngest person in the room.”

She had to give her that, and she just shook her head, “Well, it’s good to see you either way.” Catherine thought a little more about what Stephanie had said before, “Which coworker?”

“Oh, um, I got the air cleared with ah, Sara last night.” She scooted back in the booth seat and stretched her legs out on the bench. “You know what? She’s really pretty cool, and man, she’s got one amazing mind. I was totally blown away by some of the things we talked about.”

Once again, Catherine was completely shocked by the things this girl was able to accomplish. “Wait, you got Sara to talk? About real stuff?”

“Once we got past the normal crap, we had a really nice talk… Until I got paged to go back to the morgue, that is.” She took another sip from her coffee cup. “I’m still waiting for that slow time David talked about.”

“I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.” They both chuckled and then sat up straight as the waitress arrived with their food.

“Okay, ladies… One Denver Omelet and an English Muffin.” She set the food down in front of Catherine, “And one mostly healthy, absolutely enormous breakfast for the youngster.” Once she had finished putting all the food down she planted a hand on her hip, “Sure you can handle all that food, Sweetie?”

Stephanie looked over the plates with a voracious glint in her eyes, “Oh yeah… Besides, this is probably the only meal I’ll get until tomorrow morning.” She and Catherine both laughed at her comment, but mostly because they both knew it was more true than not.

The waitress walked away shaking her head with a smile on her face, and left the two women to start in on their food. For all appearances, nothing seemed to be on their minds as they ate, but as they each made an impact on the food before them, the small talk kicked in.

“I almost forgot! Thomas found that old study guide for Lindsay when he was unpacking this weekend.”

Catherine swallowed the morsel in her mouth before responding, “Oh great… I’m sure she’ll appreciate it as much as that other stuff you gave her for school.” Catherine smiled at the thought, “We both had a blast with you guys last week, and Linds is really taking a shine to you two… But, I think she might have a little crush on Thomas.”

Stephanie just chuckled as she spread the butter on her toast, “Well, I can’t blame the girl. I mean, he is a total babe.” Both women laughed heartily at the joke.

“So, what was that you said about solving your biggest problem?” Catherine was never one for much small talk.

“Oh! Yeah, after everything that’s happened the last couple weeks, I decided planning a wedding is NOT on my list of things to do right now.” She had just dropped a time bomb, but Stephanie looked like she had done nothing more than given a weather report.

Catherine, on the other hand, looked like she was about to choke on her last bite of English Muffin. “You cancelled your wedding?”

“God no!” Stephanie shook her head as she quickly chewed the food in her mouth, “No… I just decided, and Thomas agrees, we’re just gonna fast track the whole thing and get it over with.”

“Get it over with?” Catherine shot her a carefully raised eyebrow.

“Real romantic, huh?” Stephanie laughed at her own joke before finishing her answer, “I know, I know, but you have to remember, Thomas and I have been together for seven years, and we’ve been engaged for more than five of those.” It was with that thought that she got serious, “I already messed up with waiting this long, and I don’t want to keep making the same mistake.”

Catherine saw the far away look in Stephanie’s eyes and had to know the reasoning behind her answer, “What mistake was that, Steph?”

“Cath, I’m an only child, and my parents had me late in life to boot… Because I got it in my head that I didn’t want to deal with a marriage in case Thomas and I got separated by our careers, my Pop died before he got to walk me down the aisle.” A small lump formed in Catherine’s throat, and she guessed that maybe she was not as cynical as everyone thought she was after all. “So, I’m not gonna wait any longer to plan some elaborate party that I don’t need. I’m just gonna find a priest, get a place for a few people to watch and marry that man before anything else happens.” Stephanie flashed Catherine with a smile, but she was almost positive that a tear was threatening to come loose.

Catherine reached across the table and laid her hand on the younger woman’s forearm, “Well, then tell me what you need and I’ll see if I can’t help make it as painless as possible.” Catherine gave her one of those killer smiles of hers and a little wink.

Stephanie took a deep breath, “Well, if you’re serious… Neither of us has any idea where to do this thing.” She thought about that statement for a moment. “That’s not true… If we have it in a Vegas wedding chapel, my mother will never speak to me again.” Both women enjoyed a hearty laugh at the off-hand comment.

“Honey, I would never speak to you again if you did that… So, give me a day or two and I’ll have something perfect for you guys… Did you have a date in mind?” Catherine pulled out her calendar and was ready to jot down some notes.

“Two weeks from yesterday.” Not for the first time in the last two weeks, Catherine found herself speechless, and her face showed every ounce of it. “Now, before you go thinking I’ve completely lost my mind… Thomas’ best friend is leaving Vegas in three weeks, two of our friends living in Chicago are going to be finishing their honeymoon here that weekend, Thomas’ sister will actually be in town that weekend, and my Mom will be here on Friday and staying for two weeks. The timing is perfect.” She followed up her explanation by taking in a big mouthful of eggs.

Catherine still had a hard time processing all the information Stephanie had just given her, but she really did not need to in order to help. “Okay, so I have less than two weeks to get you a place that I wouldn’t be ashamed to have a wedding in,” Catherine wrote a few things down in her datebook. “Hey, what about a dress?”

Stephanie worked to swallow the food in her mouth so she could respond as she shook her head, “No problem there… I can just use Mom’s.” She took a drink of her juice to clear her throat before continuing, “She’s a little shorter than me, but I didn’t want anything floor length anyway. And I know it fits, because when we got engaged she had me try it on.”

“Well, that’s at least something…” Catherine looked up from her datebook, “Is there anything else we need to worry about?” The young woman looked like she was thinking about something, but Catherine could tell she still had something up her sleeve. “Alright… Out with it, missy.”

She smiled broadly, and then sat back in her seat, “Well, I really only need help with one more thing…” Her pregnant pause was enough to warrant an eyebrow raise from Catherine in anticipation of what this fiendish young woman was plotting, “Uncle Gil.”

That time Catherine nearly did a spit take right there at the table, “Oh Honey… I think you might be on your own with THAT project. You’d have better luck solving the Riddle of the Sphinx.” Both women laughed in agreement.

“No seriously… It’s really not that big a deal… I just need to get him to give me away at the wedding and find him a girlfriend… How hard could that be?”

Stephanie took another drink from her glass as Catherine stared at her with her mouth hanging open in disbelief. She was struck dumb by such a casual remark regarding the single most enigmatic man she had ever known. In her experience, nothing with Gil Grissom was “not a big deal.” And what Stephanie was proposing was something she had been trying to accomplish for years. Catherine thought to herself, How in the world does this kid think she can perform that kind of miracle? She tried to recover her faculties of speech before responding to the comment, “Steph, I’ve been trying to figure out that last part for years, and the only thing I came up with was that your uncle just wasn’t meant to be in a relationship with anyone.”

Stephanie eyed Catherine doubtfully. “If you really thought that, you’d have given up on him years ago. He’s not an easy guy to even be friends with, let alone as close as you two are. And I know, despite the rumor running through the whole lab, that you two never had anything beyond friendship.” Stephanie stacked her plates as she talked, “Uncle Gil is complicated and has a ton and a half of baggage, but he’s not impossible. Frustrating, yes… Pig-headed, sure… Stuck in his head most of the time, no doubt… Completely obsessed with his work, absolutely…” The more she listed off Gil’s traits, the more Catherine understood where she was going with this line of thought, “But when it comes down to it, the man is powder keg of emotion and passion, just waiting for the right person to have that one match that will light his ridiculously complex fuse.”

Catherine was in absolute awe. This young woman had just completely summed up what had taken her years to even hint at about a man that she considered a very dear friend. Gil had been one of her biggest supporters when she became a CSI, and he was the only one there for her during the whole mess with Eddie; before, during and after the divorce. Even when he was driving her completely crazy, she always knew that he would be there for her if she needed him. She looked down into her swirling coffee cup and started shaking her head, “Are you sure you’re only twenty six?”

“Last time I checked.”

“Because that was the most insightful description of that man I have ever heard, and some twenty six year old, punk kid should not have that much wisdom crammed into her head.” Stephanie actually blushed at Catherine’s compliment, confirming her affection for the girl. “Okay, great wise child, since I’m sure you have some kind of plan, what do you have in mind?”

“I’ve met a couple people that could definitely be some possibilities… But I was looking for some background from you.” Stephanie’s eyes opened wide suddenly, “Oh yeah! And what are you doing Friday night?”

Catherine looked down at her datebook and then searched her mind, “Ah, nothing that I can think of.”

“Great! You’re coming to a dinner party at our place and meeting my Mom.” The devilish glint in her eyes had returned, “And making sure Uncle Gil doesn’t wimp out at the last second… Just tell him you needed a date or something.” With that comment, Catherine was convinced the girl was trying to make her spit out her coffee at some point tonight. “Okay, now I’m pretty sure Sofia is out, just from what Thomas told me about her… Way too high maintenance.”

Catherine shook her head at Stephanie’s observation of the CSI turned detective, “That’s the understatement of the century.”

“See, that’s why I needed to talk to you about this… I can’t even get Gil to say ‘sex’ around me.” Once again Catherine nearly lost her coffee. “Anyway, what do you know about his history with Sara?” That was the last straw for Catherine, and immediately after spitting her coffee out all over the tabletop, she was reaching for the napkins. “That good, huh?” Stephanie handed her another napkin as Catherine looked up at her in slightly amused disbelief.

Shaking her head as she got the rest of the coffee cleaned up, and glancing at her watch, Catherine panned, “Honey, we don’t have enough time in the world for that discussion.”

Chapter 18

Catherine appeared in the doorway, leaning hard on the frame, but Gil, completely caught up in whatever he was doing, did not notice. She cleared her throat loudly, but still nothing. “GIL!”

His head shot up from over the laptop screen, “Catherine?”

“Finally… Look, we have a full caseload tonight, and I’m gonna have to tear you away from the lab to help out… Do you mind?” She worked very hard to keep the amusement from her voice, but Catherine knew she was going to be enjoying this.

Grissom looked around his desk, as though he was hoping there was something there that would help him get out of going out in the field tonight. When his search proved fruitless, he grabbed his clipboard and stood up, “I suppose not…” He replied and gestured for her to lead the way, “Lead on, MacDuff.”

Catherine just shook her head and let loose a quiet laugh at Grissom’s constant need to remind people just how much he had read. She turned and strode through the hall of the lab with her usual aire of confidence, secure in the knowledge that she had earned her stripes and delighted in the notion that she was finally going to have an opportunity to pay Grissom back for all their years of friendship. She and Stephanie had come up with a plan of attack for the coming week, and she had to admit, the girl was more cunning than she had given her credit for in the beginning. These two fiery women were going to unleash their devices in an attempt to help Gil Grissom open his eyes and his heart for the first time in far too many years.

Before their shift, the young woman had revealed to Catherine that her dear uncle had once been a very different man from the closed off shell he had become, and Catherine had revealed that there was something unspoken and unrequited between Gil and Sara that had been simmering below the surface for years. Catherine had the suspicion that Stephanie had not given her the full details, but neither had she. Gil was still her friend, and some things just should not be shared. She did not talk about Sara’s jealousy regarding the potential Sofia fiasco and she did not dare let her know about the whole Lady Heather situation.

Over the last two weeks, Catherine had a heard a great many stories about Gil that just did not fit with the image she had of the man. In fact, she had a hard time imagining him doing most of the things that Stephanie had described to her. The only way she was able to reconcile the young woman’s image of Gil to her own, was that she surmised in Stephanie, he had found a safety net; a person who held no expectations of him and simply cared for him unconditionally. And within that safety, he risked nothing in opening himself up to this young woman. Catherine knew that Gil Grissom was all about weighing risks, and his convictions were nothing more than a shield to hide his cowardice for life, but it was in that thought that Catherine realized Stephanie was the undamaged version of Gil; free of whatever secrets that held him in the grips of fear from loss. She was brilliant, possessed a keen wit, was well read, of strong moral fiber, with a well-rounded sense of humor, and was humble and dedicated: just like Gil. But she was also confident, demonstrative, open, outwardly caring, adventurous, self-aware and filled with an incredible zest for life; which was everything Gil was lacking.

When they entered the break room to dispense assignments, Catherine was even more certain that this little plot was going to be deliciously fun and unbelievably satisfying in the end. As she looked across the faces of the waiting CSI’s she felt some of that wonderful feeling welling up inside. Time to set the wheels in motion, Cat.

“Okay, looks like we have a hot night for us…” She started by handing Nick an assignment sheet, “Nicky, I need you to take Greg out on this one.” Nick took the sheet and examined it as she continued, “At first glance, it was a simple B&E, but the owner showed up and wanted to know where his safe was.”

Nick looked up, “They took the whole safe?” He was shaking his head of the thought of what that had to look like, and nudged Greg in the side, “Hey, at least we can rule out the guy on the bike, huh?” Everyone laughed at his reference to Sara’s smash and grab suspect from last week.

“Very funny, Cowboy.” Sara was the only one not actually laughing, though she wore her signature smirk.

“Warrick,” Catherine handed over two assignment slips to him, “You get to be the running man tonight.” She flashed a smile his way when he winced at her comment, “Trick roll at the Palms and a print lift at a burglary.” She flipped through her notes before continuing, “Desert Valley Vending and Supply.’

Warrick lifted an eyebrow at the last case, “Vending machine burglary? You gotta be kidding… How is that our business?”

Catherine gave him a non-committal shrug, “When it was the tenth hit in a week, and they got away with two grand tonight. That makes it our business, and you’ll be going back to the company warehouse to print the other machines hit as well.” She went back to her notes again, “PD thinks it’s a group that just moved into the area, and Detective Vega thinks it might be one of the L.A. gangs that’ve been trickling into town lately.” Warrick nodded his understanding and she moved on.

She put her notes down and looked up to find everyone with their eyes squarely on her, “And as I am sure you all have heard… We have a high profile triple at the Bellagio, and I’ve convinced Grissom to come out of his cave to assist me on that one, with Sara as backup.” She looked around the room and found a few sly looks forming on the faces of her coworkers, but no one was about to say anything. When it came to Sara and Grissom working a case together, everyone hated the tension, but no one could deny the results. They also knew that Catherine could probably have handled it just fine with only Sara, but the two women tended to clash at times, and Grissom would act as the buffer between them, while Catherine kept him and Sara at bay as well. Catherine, on the other hand, knew that she was putting them together for a very specific reason that had little to do with the work itself. “So, if no one has any questions… Let’s get a move on people.”

It would be a whole new ballgame tonight, and Catherine was the only one with the rulebook. Under her breath, she added her own little quote for the situation, “Fasten your seatbelts; it’s going to be a bumpy night.”

Chapter 20

Two weeks changes everything.

That thought was foremost in Stephanie MacInnerney’s mind as she posted her second body of the night. In the last two weeks, her life had completely changed. In two weeks, it would change again, and that thought made her smile.

That smile was the first thing Warrick Brown saw as he entered the Autopsy Room, and it brought a grin to his own face. He had to admit, this woman had delivered a much needed injection of zest for life into CSI headquarters. The irony of that, with her being a coroner, was not lost on him.

Before she noticed that there was anyone else in the room, Stephanie made her final notes to the drawer index and then slammed the drawer shut on another case. Her first indication that there was another in the room was the groan that escaped Warrick’s mouth at the crashing sound of the drawer closing: metal against metal. “Hey… When did you get here, Mr. Lightweight?”

He crinkled his brow in confusion as cocked his head back and to the side, “Lightweight?”

Stephanie laughed at his response and walked to the other side of the room as she explained, “Oh… I heard all about your little ‘boys’ night out.’” She chuckled when he winced at the memory. “What ever possessed you to think you could out drink a group of surgeons?” She shook her head with her question, “Those guys live to party.”

Warrick tried to shrug it off, “Hey, I grew up in Vegas, I figured I could handle a bunch of transplant college boys.”

“Yeah, well, that was your first mistake…” She gave him a disapproving look and then laughed, “Your second one was trying out drink any man whose name begins with ‘O’.”

Warrick scrunched up his face in a puzzled expression, “’O’? I don’t get it.”

Stephanie could not contain her amusement, “You know, like O’Halloran… Or should I say ‘O’My God He’s Irish?’” Warrick reeled back at the obvious jab.

“Yeah, well I learned my lesson… No more playing with the big boys, unless I plan to add alcoholism to my list of achievements.” He tried to play it off, but he really was still feeling a little out of it from Friday night (or was that Saturday morning?). He had also decided the whole thing was Stephanie and Tina’s fault; if they had not both had to work late, he would have never run into Thomas and “the boys” as they left the hospital for a night of drinking at the clubs. Although, he had to admit, it was a welcome change to be hanging out with “the boys.” He just needed to re-learn what his limits were, especially with that crew.

“Now, don’t go overreacting… Thomas had a great time, even if he and Carter did have to carry you in the door for your wife.” She gave him a wink to add insult to injury.

He contemplated that piece of information a moment, “Hmmm… I wondered how I’d made it all the way to the bedroom.” They both laughed at his comment. “Anyway, what I remember was good. That Thomas is a right guy... And a lucky SOB to boot.” His wink added emphasis to the compliment and elicited a slight blush from Stephanie.

“Yeah, I think I’m gonna keep him… Until something better comes along, of course.”

Warrick dipped into a small bow, “I’d expect nothing less.” Stephanie’s cheeks blushed once more and Warrick decided he had better get his business taken care of or he would spend all night down there relaxing. “So, were you able to get anything on that case from last night? I asked Doc Robbins to leave it for you since you are the exotic COD Queen lately.”

She laughed in response, “Yeah, I’ve got that one… Report’s there on the table.” She walked towards the ringing phone, adding, “And nothing exotic there,” just before answering. “Autopsy… Okay, David… Three inbound, got it… Just finished so we should be good to go if we tag team it… Oh, well I’m sure they can lend a hand on the back end… Right, twenty minutes… I’ll have the coffee ready… Bye.”

Warrick gestured at the phone she had just hung up, “Must be that triple Cath and Gris went out on, huh?”

“Yeah, David said it was a pretty messy scene, so they’ll be there a while processing.” She walked over to the supply room and grabbed a fresh box of gloves and drapes. “And we need to get the bodies ready for ID right away, so we’ll have to make sure we collect and document everything before the family arrives so they can be made presentable.”

Warrick looked around the room and brought his arms up in a resigned gesture, “Well, I got nothin’ going on right now, while I wait for about six hundred prints to process through APHIS. You want some help with prep?”

She sent him the warmest smile he could remember seeing in a long time, “I could kiss you right now.”

He gave her a mock expression of fear and surrender, “No way, Lady… I’ve met your husband, and I ain’t got a death wish.” She was laughing pretty hard when she reached into the closet again and took out some spare scrubs to throw at him. “What? I hold no illusions that homeboy couldn’t wipe the floor with my butt in half a heartbeat.”

She flashed him her infectious grin and said, “Well, he did spend three years doing just that at UCLA.”

Warrick shot her a puzzled expression, “Doing what?”

“He was a first string tight end for the Bruins… And boy was he.” That comment brought the blush to Warrick’s cheeks. “He quit when the coach told him he needed to spend less time in the A&P lab and more time in the weight room.”

Warrick searched through his arsenal of sports statistics from back in his gambling and bookmaking days until he finally made the connection, “Wait, THAT is ‘Tommyboy’ O’Halloran?!” Stephanie shrugged an answer in the affirmative, “Wow! That guy had balls.” He was a little thrown back from having talked like that in front of a woman, and tried to recover quickly, “Well, I mean that took some nerve to walk away from what could have been a serious NFL career.”

She was unable to contain her laughter with his last comment, “Obviously, they never got a look at his knees! He spent the entire time between graduation in December and the start of med school the following September having his knees reconstructed and going through rehab.” She shook her head at the notion that Thomas could have ever played professional sports, “That boy has more metal in those legs than most new cars.”

Warrick shook his head as he processed the information. “Well, he was good, and he helped win me some money a few times.”

Stephanie gave him a concerned look, “I didn’t know you were a betting man.”

Warrick chuckled at that notion, “In my younger days… Ended up costing me a lot more than money, so I put that in the history column.”

Stephanie crossed over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, “Well, I’m happy to hear that… ‘Cause I’d hate to have to kick your ass.” When his eyes shot up to meet hers, he found a fiendish smile waiting for him, and returned it with one of his sideways grins.

“Well, now that we got that out of the way… I’m gonna go throw these on before David comes wheelin’ in.”

Suddenly, from behind them, Catherine came striding into the room, “Awww… What we don’t get to watch?” She let one of her suggestive winks punctuate her off-color remark.

Warrick laughed because Catherine was probably one of the few women who could get away with a remark like that. As he thought about it, his shift seemed to be filled with the only women he could imagine being able to get away with it and that brought out his full-on electric smile. “Do we need you girls to attend one of them sensitivity training sessions or something?”

Stephanie and Catherine looked at each with a conspiratorial glint in their eyes, and Stephanie said, “Would you like to handle that one, or should I?”

Once again, Warrick was holding up his arms in a gesture of surrender, “No way… I’m gonna sneak away before I really get embarrassed. You win.”

Catherine feigned disappointment with a pout, “Well, he’s no fun at all.” They both laughed at the humor of the situation, as Warrick disappeared into the bathroom.

“So, what are you doing here? David said you guys had one hell of a scene to process.” Stephanie turned back to prepping her supplies.

“Yeah, well, I left Grissom and Sara there after I made a deal with the hotel manager.” She looked back at the doors, as though she was making sure the coast was clear, “And I came back here with David to steal Nicky and Greg in order to keep my word. But I wanted to talk to you real quick before the boys bring the bodies down.” Stephanie returned her full attention to Catherine, “Look, I think we’re gonna need a little more help getting those two there… Let’s enlist Warrick.”

Stephanie checked both doors, “You think so? What’s up?”

“Well, the waters have cooled a little on one side of the pond as of late, and Warrick is the perfect person to coax it back into the sun. I can handle Gil, but my history with Sara is not stellar. So, getting Warrick in on this would go a long way to making it a success.”

“Right,” Stephanie caught a glimpse of Nick coming to the doors of the Autopsy Room, “Well I guess if you had to make a deal like that, you better get the guys over there.” She hoped that Catherine had caught on.

“Yeah, so I’ll leave Warrick here to help you and David to get them ready and take the guys with me to get that scene processed as quickly as possible.” She had caught on and once Nick and Greg were in the room, she turned around and hooked her arms through both of theirs and led them out of the room. “Let’s get moving, boys.” They both waved behind them at Stephanie and she laughingly returned their farewell.

When Warrick re-emerged from the bathroom, he found Stephanie, David and three corpses, “Talk about a let down… From two beautiful women teasing me to David and three DB’s.”

David looked up from his task and said, “And good evening to you, too Warrick.”

Chapter 21

The bellman cart that sat in the hallway was under the guard of two of LVPD’s finest and was laden with evidence boxes. Inside the room where the cart was parked, it appeared as though a chop shop crew had come for a visit. Large swathes of carpet were missing, the artwork had been visibly removed from the walls, there was not a scrap of linen to be found, and every single object that was not nailed down had been packed up. As Catherine and Grissom surveyed the room with their hands planted firmly at their waists, Nick and Greg continued to tote the evidence boxes into the hallway.

“Looks like we have set a new record for stripping a hotel room in this town.” Catherine said with a grin on her face.

“Did we remember the towels?” Grissom gave a little wink.

Catherine slapped her hips and turned to face Grissom, “Okay, well, I’m gonna take the boys and the evidence back to the lab. I assume you’ll finish up here and then work the bodies while we start processing the other evidence?” Catherine looked away when the hotel manager appeared in the doorway, and to avoid Grissom’s watchful gaze so that he would not sense her ulterior motives.

Grissom followed her gaze to the door and they both nodded at the man standing there, “Yeah, as long as you deal with that guy again.” Both of their faces displayed the same amused smirk.

Catherine tipped her gaze at the floor, “You got it… See you back at the lab.” And with that Catherine walked over to the hotel manager and began to play the political game with him as she started down the hallway with Nick and Greg pushing the bellman’s cart; the officers in tow. Grissom watched them depart and shook his head at the humor of the situation.

He turned back to scan the suite once more before he blew out a deep breath. Then he reached down to pick up his kit before heading into the bathroom area to finish his work. Upon entering the door, he looked around the very large room in search of something. When he lowered his gaze to the floor, his eyes found what he was looking for; Sara Sidle. She was lying on her back with her head and arms tangled up inside the cabinet of the jacuzzi tub, where most likely she was searching for any evidence that might have been caught in the traps. Grissom realized what a dedicated CSI she was when he saw her struggling to get further into the cabinet. He knew that most women would have passed on this task to one of her male counterparts. There were a great many things that Grissom admired in Sara, and they all struck him as he set his own kit down on the countertop that the younger woman had already marked as cleared.

Grissom carefully removed the tools that he would be using to assist Sara in processing the bathroom and set them out carefully on a tray. When he looked up from his tools, he was nose to nose with his own image in the mirror before him. He could see that the gray had finally won dominance in the hair on his head and in his beard, and that caused him to experience the pangs of vanity that he usually worked to avoid at all costs. He tried to remember just when time had become his greatest enemy. However, before he could sink any farther into his reverie, he was brought back to the scene by the sounds coming from behind him.

THUNK “Dammit!’ THWACK “Shit!”

Grissom turned to watch as Sara was wriggling violently inside the cabinet, almost as though she was trying to get even further inside. “Sara?”

BONK “Owwww… Yeah?” Her voice sounded distant and frustrated.

“Are you okay in there?” Grissom had bent down beside her and was trying to get a picture of what it looked like under there.

“I’m fine… But this drain trap is about to get shot.” CLANK “Son of a-.”

“Sara!”

“Look, you can either listen to me swear or you can help by getting that other panel off and see if there is a better angle for this damn pipe wrench.” It was quite obvious that Sara’s frustration level had reached its peak.

Grissom stood up and looked around with a puzzled expression, “What panel?”

“C’mon, Grissom…” BANG BANG BANG “Follow the noise, get that thing off, so I can try to get out of here.” Sara’s tone was anything but amiable, and in fact, Grissom got the distinct impression that she was truly angry at that moment.

He walked over to where the sound had come from and to his surprise, there was another panel which looked like it had come loose; most likely from the vigorous abuse it had just received. “Found it… I’ll have it off as soon as I can find the latch.”

From inside the cabinet, Grissom heard Sara distinctly sigh heavily, “There is no latch, Grissom… Get out the screwdriver… And hurry.” Grissom looked around for the screwdriver and when he found it he bent down again and started removing the screws from the panel. He was hurrying to get the panel off in an attempt to avoid anymore of Sara’s anger. Once he had all the screws out he lifted the panel and peered in to try and visualize the trap Sara was attempting to reach.

He hung his head in defeat when he realized the trap in question was well out of range of the space provided by the panel. “Sara, it’s not going to make a difference.”

BANG “That’s it!” There was suddenly a flurry of movement inside the cabinet and Grissom realized that she had started working her way back out of the cramped space. He stood up and moved back to the side of the tub were her legs were sticking out.

“Sara… Hold still.”

“Grissom, I need to get out of here if I am going to get at that trap, so just back off.” Sara’s anger was building.

“I said… Hold Still!” Thankfully, she stopped wriggling around and he bent down to get a good view of the situation, “Now, hand the tools through to me at your feet.” Again, she complied with his command, “Okay, now keep your arms free of any obstructions.”

It was very quiet inside the cabinet for a moment and Grissom was about to ask if everything was all right when he heard a resigned sigh, “What are you planning?”

“Well, you could spend the next ten minutes wiggling around to get out, or you can just let me pull you out of there.” He was not sure, but he almost thought he heard her breath catch in her throat. He pushed the thought aside, “Ready?”

He heard some movement inside the cabinet and then heard her blow out a breath, “Yeah, go ahead.”

He reached out to grab Sara by the ankles, careful to take a firm grip, and gingerly began to extricate her from the cabinet, inch by inch. “Okay so far?”

“Just keep going, I’m fine.” Grissom took her defeatist tone as just her wounded pride and proceeded to take hold of her again, this time at her calves. And again, inch by inch he slowly pulled her from the bathroom fixture. As he reviewed the situation, he realized that one more pull and she would be free of the tangle of pipes, wiring and supporting structures.

He reached up just a little higher and wrapped his hands around the underside of her knees and prepared to make that last pull, but was surprised by the sudden tensing he found in the muscles there. He immediately pulled his hands away, “Am I hurting you?” His words dripped with his deep concern, and he was growing even more apprehensive by her silence.

When he did not think he could stand it any longer, she cleared her throat, “No… I ah… I’m just ah… It just ahh… Well, it tickled.” Grissom would have breathed a sigh of relief, but Sara’s voice seemed unusually strained. He decided that it was probably nothing, but he was going to try and question her about it on the ride back to the lab.

“Oh, well, I was just afraid of pulling your knees apart by going lower… Are you ready now?” Grissom was explaining himself with total logic, but even he had to admit to himself that it was a somewhat awkward position to be in, and so he could understand her discomfort. At that moment, he just wanted to get her out of that cabinet and let them both move away from this uncomfortable situation between them.

“Go ahead… I’m ready now.” Her words were tense, but he took her at them and reached out once more to give her that final pull from the cabinet. When he looked down into her eyes once she was free of the inner workings of the tub, he was struck by the vulnerability he found there.

He held out his hands for her to take them and helped her to her feet, which brought her to within less than an inch of him. He gripped her around the waist when he thought she was struggling for balance and their eyes met once again. For Gil Grissom, time appeared to stop in that instant, and it was not until Sara broke the gaze by looking down that it started again. With the eye contact broken, Grissom suddenly felt the overwhelming tension of the situation as well as an undeniable urge to make that contact again.

Before he could say or do anything, Sara moved away from him and to the other side of the room to get something from the tool bag. Grissom took a steadying breath and spoke as a way of clearing the fog forming in his own mind, “Are you okay? I mean, you didn’t get hurt under there at all, right?”

“Nope… Not under there at all.”

Chapter 22

The Click/Pop/Whine of the camera leaked out into the corridor of the Autopsy Room. The repetitious sounds became almost like a cadence, and might have been soothing, were it not for the constant flashing. Warrick was going through the motions of the photographing process for the four bodies before him. They had started out with a triple that night, but another victim was found on scene and rushed to the hospital. About twenty minutes prior, the hospital had delivered the body; the victim did not make it.

He would never admit it to anyone else, but this was the part of the job that he was the most uncomfortable with; the documenting of the bodies. The images would stay with him for days, whenever he had to run this part of a case. It was one of the many things that made working a case with Sara or Catherine easier, because not only were they good at it, that kind of documenting was easy for them. They were able to detach themselves from the task, and break it down to the minutia. There were many times that Sara’s photos would yield information that they had not visualized without her detail work. Her ability to break a case down to the smallest pieces, while still seeing things in the big picture to work out the facts always seemed to amaze him, and he admired her ability to switch tracks seamlessly. He liked working cases with Sara because it helped him to look at things differently, and he figured some of her skills would rub off on him eventually.

He stepped back from the cleaning table to get a better view of the body as a whole and ended up bumping into the woman who was attempting to pass by, “Whoa there… You need some backup beepers on that thing.”

He lifted up his eyebrow at her comment, “’That thing?’”

Stephanie was laughing, “Oh please, like you don’t know.” Warrick blushed.

“You always this forward, Miss Thing?” He shook his head as he attempted to hide his obvious embarrassment.

“Nah… I think it’s just you.” That time he laughed. “So, are you done there yet?”

He checked his notes and nodded, “Yeah… I just need a couple reference shots and then he’s all yours.”

Stephanie plopped down on her stool and leaned her head back, rolling it around from side to side. “Man, isn’t this shift over with yet?”

“Not yet… You feelin’ that marathon shift still?” He clicked off a few more pictures to finish the roll and cleared the canister.

“Not really, I mean, yeah, I’m still a little drained… But truthfully, I’m just stressing a little bit.” She reached up and stretched out her shoulders one at a time.

“What do you have to be stressin’ on?”

Stephanie’s eyes snapped open at his question, “Oh yeah, you haven’t heard yet… Thomas and I sort of had a ‘Come to Jesus” about the wedding.”

“Do I dare ask?” Warrick’s expression showed his apprehension.

“Sure, we decided we just didn’t have the time or the patience for planning a serious wedding… So, we’re getting married in two weeks without all the fuss.” Warrick figured it had to be a good thing by the smile that graced her face.

“Oh, well… Then congratulations, I guess.” He laughed without reservation once he knew the situation and he reached for his cup of coffee.

“But first… I gotta get Gil sorted out.”

Warrick nearly choked on his coffee, “Somehow… I think you’re gonna need a lot more than two weeks for that one, girl.” It was Stephanie’s turn to laugh.

“Please, with me and Catherine on the case, we’ll have him on the right path by Friday.”

Warrick groaned when she mentioned Catherine’s involvement, “Well, just remind me to stay on your good side then, because you two together scares me just thinkin’ ‘bout it.”

“Oh that’s okay… Because we’re getting you in on it, too.” She pushed away on her stool to get started on the last body.

“Excuse me?” Warrick’s face held his expression of shock well.

“You heard the girl, Warrick.” Catherine sauntered across the Autopsy Room to stand between Warrick and Stephanie. “Besides, tell me you don’t want to be in on finally getting rid of all that tension on shift?” Catherine’s face once again showed her to be her feline self.

“You ladies are dangerous.” He rubbed at his chin with a smirk on his face, “But I gotta admit, if you ladies are as good as I think you are, it’s gotta be worth it… Count me in.”

Catherine winked at him and said, “Well, when we’re good… We’re very good. And-.”

“When we’re bad… We’re even better.” Stephanie added her own flair to the end.

Chapter 23

With his face obscured by the microscope, Sara stole a sideways look at Grissom. She was trying to wean herself from thinking about him, but it was simply not easy. It had become a habit, and some habits were just not easy to break. Grissom was not easy to break.

She shook her head, hoping to clear the thoughts from her mind and get back to work. She took a deep breath and rolled her neck around. She winced at a stinging feeling in her neck, and brought her hands up to examine the source. She found a sticky, raised line of tissue there and brought her hand back down to see what was now stuck to her finger. Sara stared at her hand for a moment with what she saw there not registering in her mind at first. However, her actions had not gone unnoticed, and she knew this when Grissom was instantly at her side, saying something to her. She blinked her eyes once, then twice. Finally, she was able to respond, “I’m fine Grissom… It’s just a scratch.”

“Sara, would you just let me get a look at it.” Grissom was being very insistent, and even though she wanted to, Sara knew there was nothing she could do. Grissom was relentless when it came to protecting his people.

So, she lowered her arms and surrendered her stance, “Fine, but it’s just a scratch.”

They were looking eye to eye when he spoke, “Let me be the judge of that.” He slowly reached up and gently brushed the hair away from her neck. For what seemed like an eternity their eyes were locked, but then Grissom broke the stalemate and tilted his head down to get a better look at her neck. When he got closer to her neck she stiffened slightly as she heard his breath near her ear, and she just hoped that he had not noticed. It was when his fingers came into contact with her neck that she was not able to hide her response. She nearly jumped off of her stool, and Grissom retracted quickly, for fear he had caused her pain, “I’m sorry… Is it that sensitive?”

Sara worked to recover fast, “Ah, no… Ah, your fingers… They’re um, they’re a little cold.” Grissom gave her a smirk and then rubbed his hands together to warm them up. When he reached up again and stroked the wound to examine it. Sara was lost in the sensation of his fingers on her neck, and she did not notice when he brought his head back around to look her in the eye. The look he found on her face, with her eyes half closed made the breath catch in his throat.

Grissom had to clear his throat in order to break the trance. “I need to get it cleaned up to have a better look.” Sara’s eyes immediately popped open, but he had already moved away.

She looked around, but she did not see him, and when he suddenly reappeared at her side she jumped. He held up the medkit with a grin on his face, “This should do the trick.” He turned to face the table and set up his first aide station. Sara took in a deep breath and tried to steel herself for his next ministrations. She needed all of her strength not to get caught up in the sensations that she had felt before. Sara knew that Grissom was just being his regular self, but she was just not ready for that kind of contact.

Grissom appeared to be taking an unusual amount of time putting together a cleaning preparation. Sara was about to tell him that she did not have all night to wait for this because she had evidence to process. However, she was not prepared for what happened next. “Okay, now just remember, I’m not used to my patients having a pulse, let alone being able to talk back.” Sara sat up bolt straight in shock.

Grissom called back to the woman who had just entered the room, “Hey Steph… I see you found your way here.”

“I had a map and some breadcrumbs, thank you.” Sara turned to see Stephanie walking towards her with her tongue stuck out at Grissom to show her lack of appreciation at his jibe, and their comfort together. “So, Sara, was he at least good looking?”

Sara was not sure what she was going to do or say, but she knew she had better think fast because she realized that her mouth was hanging open. “Ah… Umm… Huh?”

Stephanie was right beside her at this point, “You know… The vampire that thought it might be a good idea to go after someone like you?” Stephanie winked at her to show she was making a joke and then took the antiseptic and gauze from Grissom’s grasp and took a closer look at the wound on Sara’s neck. “Well, this doesn’t look too bad… Probably just a scratch, but with the fact that it broke the skin, if you haven’t had a tetanus shot for a while, you really should go in and get one. When was your last tetanus shot?” Stephanie did not wait for an answer and set about to clean the wound.

Sara thought back to when she had last received a tetanus shot, “It’s been less than two years.” She was desperately working to maintain her composure.

Stephanie was carefully removing the blood and grime from the area of the wound, “Hmmm umm… Well, double check your records and if you haven’t had one in longer, please holler at me and I’ll make arrangements for you to get one over at Desert Palms.” Stephanie was busy with her ministrations and was not really paying attention to Sara or her somewhat obvious state of distress. For a few moments, there was only the sound of Stephanie humming quietly as she went about her work. “So, did you catch that new piece they had on Discovery about the cicadas in the South?”

Sara was still having trouble thinking straight, and was even more shocked to having been asked a question about bugs from the coroner. “No, I missed it when it was on the first time, but I managed to get a recording of it when it came on the second time, I just haven’t been able to watch it yet. Was it any good?” Grissom was answering the question, and that was when Sara realized it had not been directed at her in the first place. That was also when her heart sunk just a little further.

“It had some interesting theories, but I was a little disappointed in it overall.” She was applying something cool to the wound on Sara’s neck, but nothing was going to make her real hurt go away at that moment. “I mean, they didn’t even cover the extended dormant period or the basis of the attraction in their thrumming.”

Grissom screwed up his mouth in a puzzled expression, “Seems hardly worth the effort if they weren’t even going to gloss over that information, because what else would they be basing their theories upon, if not the essential factors of their existence.”

“Exactly what I thought!” Stephanie was shaking her head in a show if disgust, she took one more look at her handiwork, then placed a layer of gauze over the scratch, and held her hand gently over the wound. “Okay, Sara… It was just a bit more than a scratch, but only a little. You should be able to take the bandage off in twenty four hours, and then just keep treating it with a small amount of topical antibiotic cream for about a week. That should keep it from scarring, and make it heal a little faster.” Once she was certain the bandage was firmly in place she removed her hand and looked Sara in the eye before she spoke, “Now, when you go to take this off tomorrow, take yourself a nice long soak. I used a liquid skin to cover it and hold the lac together, and it’ll make taking the bandage off a little tricky. So, give it plenty of time to soften up before you take it off, okay?” Stephanie grinned at Sara, and kept looking at her until she acknowledged her understanding.

Sara managed to hold herself together just long enough to let the woman know she understood her instructions, “Yeah… I’ll be careful, but for now, I really need to finish processing this evidence… If you don’t mind?” She had come across as solid and focused; the two things that Sara was the farthest away from at that moment.

“Sounds great… Just holler if you need me for anything, okay?” Sara nodded and Stephanie started putting the supplies back into her bag, leaving Grissom to close up the things from the medkit.

When Stephanie turned to leave the Processing Lab Grissom called after her, “Hold up, I’ll walk you back down and you can tell me about our victims.” Sara could not remember a time she was so glad to have Grissom leave her alone as she was in that moment.

Sara went back to her work. In her work, she was always strong, and it made so much more sense than the rest of her life. Her work was science, and it was structured. Her life, it was anything but structured.

Chapter 24

The boys were each going through stacks of paperwork toward the end of the first shift of the week. Warrick was waiting for the Photo Lab to finish developing the photographs he had taken of the victims from the quadruple murder that night at the Bellagio. However, he still had to finish putting the log of his photographs into the case file, and that was what he was working on there at the Break Room table. Nick and Greg were still cataloging everything that they had collected in the hotel room. Their joint report looked to be the winner for the night in terms of number of trees killed to document everything for that shift.

Nick looked up from his evidence log and had a pensive expression on his face. Warrick noticed him out of the corner of his eye and decided he needed some prodding to break up the monotony of their joint paperwork project, “Is that gas, or you got somethin’ on your mind?”

“Ha, ha, ‘Rick…” He smirked at the other man before answering, “No, I was just thinking; how did Catherine get the hotel manager to agree to let us practically strip that suite?”

“You’re kiddin’, right? I bet even Greggo there knows the answer to that one.” Warrick gestured in the younger man’s direction and Greg’s head popped up in response.

“Answer to what?” He was pulling the earphone out of his left ear.

Nick shook his head at Greg, “Why the manager of the Bellagio let us strip the suite?”

“Are you kidding? That was a suite for whales.” Greg shrugged off his question and bent his head back down into his evidence log and finished his answer, “They’re gonna have to completely remodel it before another one would set foot in it. So we just saved the hotel management a bundle in disposal costs.”

Warrick laughed at Nick and gave Greg a high five across the table, “Nice work… Good to see you payin’ attention, little man.”

Nick shook off their admonishment and went back to working on his own evidence log before asking another question, “So, am I the only who’s noticed Grissom lately?”

Greg was back into his own world of music, so he did not respond to Nick’s question, but Warrick sighed with exasperation, “Man, I don’t think I can handle three people crushin’ on the boss man ‘round here.”

“Screw you, bro.” Warrick laughed as Nick did not receive his joke well. “You know exactly what I’m talkin’ about… He’s practically been smilin’ lately.” Nick shook his pen at the other man, “And he’s been doing this for weeks now, slowly gettin’ better all the time.” Nick thought about it a little more, “I’d say it’s been goin’ on for ‘round a month now.”

“Yeah… The man has been a lot easier to work with lately.” Warrick realized that it was around the time that Stephanie had accepted the job in the morgue, but he was not about to say anything to that effect. He had made a promise, and he was going to keep it: nobody was finding out about Stephanie and Grissom from him. Well, almost nobody… But that ain’t ‘til Friday. He turned his attention back to Nick, “Why; you complainin’?”

“Hell no! I was just wonderin’ if he hadn’t finally got some or somethin’.” The two men were laughing at the humor of Nick’s statement. What they did not know was that Sara had been just about to walk into the Break Room when she caught the tail end of that discussion and then turned quickly to walk away. As she was rounding the corner in the hallway, she bumped headfirst into someone.

She might have fallen straight to the floor, had not a strong pair of hands gripped her at the shoulders and held her steady. She was making her apology when she finally recognized her victim, “Hey I’m really sorr-…” The words stuck in her throat, and she struggled to recover from the shock, “Ah, sorry, Grissom… I guess I was just-.”

“Thinking about something else? I think I understand the predilection.” He held her away from him and looked her over for a moment, “Are you okay?”

Every word was a fight to maintain her composure and she was not sure of anything that was coming out of her mouth at that moment, “Ah… Um… Yeah, I’m fine.” When he released his hold on her, she had finally broken eye contact with him and it had helped a little, “I just realized I’d forgotten something in the ah, the ah, the Trace Lab. So, I was heading back that way.” Sara had made it through another sentence, but she was almost sure that Grissom had noticed her difficulty.

“Actually, I snagged it when I was just there… No one needs to deal with Hodges this early in the week.” Grissom rolled his deep blue eyes at the mention of the infuriating tech from Trace, and the action nearly hypnotized Sara. Grissom continued, “Looks like you were right to be so persistent with those drain traps.”

At the word trap, Sara realized Grissom was talking again, and once again fought to break eye contact by taking the report from his fingers. “Yeah, that’s what it looks like.” Sara had no idea what she was agreeing to at first, but had figured it out as she forced herself to read the report and get control of herself.

“Anyway, good work on the tub. Because of you, we have a suspect to give the detectives.” Grissom looked down at his watch and then back up at Sara, “You know what? There’s only a little bit of time left in this shift… Why don’t you call it a night and get some rest.” He bent sideways and craned his neck around to get a look at the side of her neck, “I’m still worried about that cut, and we can finish up the paperwork before the end of shift. Besides, Catherine is still processing some of the stuff from the scene, and we’re likely to need some fresh eyes when we start up again tonight.” Grissom returned upright and gave her a little, half smile, and Sara’s heart melted even further. Without any regard to what he had just done to her Grissom walked away, leaving Sara to contemplate her predicament.

She whispered to herself as she headed for the locker room and her face sunk into a desolate expression, “Nick’s right… She is making him happy.”

Chapter 25

It had been a fairly uneventful shift at Desert Palms Hospital, but Dr. Thomas O’Halloran was still exhausted after spending nearly twenty of his twenty four hour shift finishing up patient charts and notes that had been neglected after the previous week’s rotating door in the Emergency Room. When he originally found out that he had not matched at any of the Los Angeles area hospitals, but instead had been chosen by Desert Palms, he was seriously depressed. But, after seven months at the Las Vegas hospital, he realized that in this environment he had made far more advances to his learning than he did in his previous time at UCLA, and far greater strides than his counterparts still in Los Angeles. At Desert Palms, he was the new hot shot resident surgeon. In Los Angeles, he would have been a number, or just another surgeon looking to make a name for himself. In Las Vegas he was performing cardiac re-sections following substantial gunshot wounds. In Los Angeles, he would still be operating on bowel obstructions and performing cut downs in the Emergency Room. As much as it pained him to be separated from the woman that he loved, he knew that he was a far greater surgeon because of the match that he had made and chosen to follow.

Fortunately for him, his fiancé was feeling the same pains of separation, and she was in a better position to find another job, since she had already completed her residency. Also in his favor was the fact that she had followed her heart and not his advice. Upon learning of her position at the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office, he told her that she would be giving up too much to follow him to Las Vegas and that she should worry more about her career than their relationship. He felt that if their relationship was meant to survive, they could handle the separation for the duration of his residency. And for a surgeon, that was a foolish thing to say, since he knew full well a man cannot live without his heart. He had wept upon seeing her face the last time he had managed to get away for a couple of days and went to see her back in Los Angeles, and so had she. For the two days they were together, they had not been able to be apart from each other for even a minute. He had nearly walked into the ladies’ room of the restaurant they dined at the second night because he was so in need of her touch. When she took him to the airport that following morning, they both broke down on the departure platform, and she informed him that as soon as she had completed a full year at the coroner’s office she was going to give notice and come to Las Vegas to find work. He half-heartedly tried to talk her out of it, knowing that it could mean she would be giving up her dream of practicing forensic pathology, but his heart was telling him to shut up with every word. In the end, she told him that she would never give up her dream, but would just have to work a little harder for it.

At the end of her full year of employment, she gave her notice to the County Coroner, who had actually begged her not to go, but she was resolute in her decision. She gave him six weeks notice, and told Thomas that with or without a job, she would be in Las Vegas in six weeks. When she called him at the end of the fourth week to give him her flight itinerary for the one interview she had been able to acquire, he learned that she had been asked to interview for another position as well. When she told him who it was with, his heart jumped up into his throat, because Thomas knew how she had dreamed of a job like that her entire life. She would not only get the chance to continue in forensic pathology, but she would be working side by side with one of her idols. He went straight to the hospital chapel and said two extra sets of prayers that night. The chaplain had come in and thought he was there worrying over a family member or a particularly bad patient. So, when Thomas explained to him what was going on, Father Wilhem promised to light a candle for them both when he returned to St. Anne’s that night. Father Wilhem nearly cried in the afternoon when Thomas had asked him to perform their marriage ceremony in less than two weeks. In the seven months Thomas had been in Las Vegas, Father Wilhem had become his greatest friend and he held the man’s opinion in very high regard.

Thomas had not been blessed with the kind, loving and supportive upbringing that his fiancé had been given. He was practically raised by the Brother’s and the Sister’s of the parochial school he had gone to as a boy. He had never known his father and his mother was a part-time prostitute, when she couldn’t stay straight long enough to keep any other job. Brother Angelo was his protector on numerous occasions, and when Social Services was set to take Thomas and his older sister into custody, it was Brother Angelo and Mother Agnes who stepped in and offered them both a place to board at the school. His sister had considered it a punishment most of the time, but Thomas thought it was his greatest blessing. She was housed with the Novitiates in the Convent wing and he with the other Monks in the Monastery wing. He ate dinner every night with Brother Angelo and Father Gregario, and they became his family. His sister was sixteen when they were given refuge at the school, but when she turned seventeen, she convinced Social Services to emancipate her, and she returned to living with their mother, but Thomas stayed with the Monks until he left for college on a full, academic scholarship to Loyola Marymount University, which was Father Gregario’s alma mater. Thomas was most proud of the study bible that Father Gregario had given him when he left for college, as it had been the Father’s when he was a student at that same Catholic university. He still kept it in a place of honor in their home, alongside Father Gregario’s funeral program.

When he first met Stephanie at UCLA Medical School, he was amazed to find another student of the medical school at mass. She claimed that she found comfort in the traditions of the church and she felt that her family was what it was because of the gifts the church had given them. When he learned that she felt that way because both of her parents had been raised in Catholic orphanages, he knew he had met the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. What cinched it for him in the end, was the fact that she was also probably the smartest woman he had ever met who was also deeply religious, as well as possessing one of the keenest wits and sharpest tongues he had ever witnessed. He knew he was in the presence of an exceptional woman, and he was going to do everything in his power to be the man she would want to spend her life with. As it turned out, he already was that man, so there was little effort on his part. The two just seemed to click instantly. He knew it was a done deal when he had met her parents and the famed “Uncle Gil.” Her father and uncle were in Los Angeles for a forensics convention of some sort and the trio had come by to meet, “this young man we’ve been hearing so much about.” At the end of the weekend, her mother had given him a hug and thanked him for making her daughter so happy, her father had shook his hand and told him to study hard, and her uncle had shook his hand and given him a silent nod. Thomas had known from Stephanie that her uncle was not a very social man, and that if he had acknowledged him in any way, that he could consider that an in. When the trio had left, Stephanie had been dumbstruck, and when Thomas questioned her about it, she just said, “I’ve never seen Uncle Gil take to someone so fast… You must be the one.” She had meant it as a little joke, but Thomas took her at her word.

When they had traveled to San Francisco to spend Thanksgiving with her family the next month, Thomas had come prepared. Right after dinner, when he knew everyone would be slow to move, he got down on one knee and proposed right then and there. Thankfully for him, she had accepted, and they were given her parents’ blessing. He had promised her father that he would never ask her to give up her dreams, and that he would do everything in his power to help her achieve them. Her father thanked him for saying so, but then he had told Thomas that he knew his daughter well enough to know that she would make her own decisions based on her own best interest, and he would just have to trust the both of them to understand what that meant to everyone.

The only truly rough spot in their relationship had come when Stephanie’s father had passed away unexpectedly. She was upset that her father would not be able to walk her down the aisle at her wedding, and for a short time, she had blamed Thomas for not wanting to get married until they had completed their residencies. It did not last long, and Thomas had remained at her side through the entire ordeal, never letting her forget how much he loved her and that her father would always be with them, even if he was no longer on this earth. When it was all over, Stephanie had confided in him that it was his strength that had allowed her to grieve in her own time, and she was deeply apologetic for having blamed him for anything. Thomas had only assured her that it would take a lot more than a few angry words spoken in the throes of grief to get rid of him. And when he was sure she was ready, he told her that it would most likely take something on the order of a tactical nuclear weapon to get rid of him at that point in their lives. That was when he knew everything was going to be just fine, because she responded with, “I think that can be arranged.” He so loved her dark sense of humor, especially in tense situations.

It was with those thoughts, and with the fatigue of his shift that he entered their home through the garage door to find a surprise that he never would have suspected in a million years. “Mom? How did you get here?”

“Hey, Thomas… What would you like for breakfast this morning?” The older woman was standing on the other side of the island in their kitchen, her white hair practically glowing from the morning sun coming into the kitchen from the window.

Before he could try to form an answer in his head, his fiancé came bounding into the room, “Hey, gorgeous!” She wrapped her arms around his neck and placed a kiss on his cheek and looked at the other tall woman in their kitchen, “Mom, you can just get him some tea and some toast… He’s probably ready to crash by now, huh honey?”

“Coming right up.” She set to work adding another cup to the tray she was setting up when he entered the house, and Stephanie started leading him into the living room.

Just as he was about to ask her where in the world her mother had come from, Thomas was greeted by another woman in his living room, “Catherine?”

“Well, good morning to you, too.” Catherine was sitting on the couch with a bunch of brochures and flyers spread out on the coffee table.

“Morning…” He turned to Stephanie with a completely confused look on his face, “Did I fall asleep at the hospital and miss a week?”

Stephanie and Catherine immediately started laughing out loud, “Oh honey… I’m sorry, I guess I should have warned you, huh?” She stroked his hair a moment and then leaned her head against his for reassurance. “Catherine is here to help with the wedding stuff… She has some great contacts around Vegas.”

“But your mother wasn’t supposed to be here until Friday.” His face still showed all signs of complete confusion.

“Oh yeah, well, she caught the first flight in to Vegas this morning, after she and I talked last night. She wanted to help out so we weren’t overwhelmed with all the plans and work… You don’t mind, right?” Stephanie guided him into sitting down in his Barcalounger.

Once firmly seated, and Stephanie’s mother had taken her seat on the couch next to Catherine with a tray set up for tea and coffee, he shrugged his shoulders and said, “Well, no… I was just a little shocked to see everyone in here, I guess.”

Stephanie sat on the arm of his chair and cradled his head against her side a moment, “That’s okay, honey… Take your tea from Mom, I’ll go get your toast, and then you can go to bed… When you wake up, the world will be right side up again.”

As she got up to leave the room, he found that his arm was being tapped and a cup of tea was waiting for him. “Thanks, Mom.” The older woman patted his forearm, and he felt the warmth from her hands, and he once again felt the world was back in its rightful place. Dr. Thomas O’Halloran had a family, and he was truly happy.

Chapter 26

The younger woman sitting opposite her in the booth was absently stirring her orange juice and staring off into space. Catherine smiled at the far away look on the face of the auburn haired beauty she was sharing a meal with today. She knew that Stephanie was thinking about what the future held for her, and that was a luxury Catherine had given up a very long time ago. Her cynicism simply did not allow her to think more than a few weeks out at a time. Catherine Willows was a love child, ex-stripper, bitterly divorced, single mother in Las Vegas; for her the future did not exist in more than a few week increments. “Are you trying to get something to dissolve in that juice, or is there something else driving you to stir it up?”

Stephanie broke from her thoughts and looked up at Catherine, “Huh?... Oh yeah.” She put the spoon down and returned her attention to her eating companion, “Sorry, just thinking about stuff.”

“That ‘stuff’ wouldn’t happen to be around six and a half feet tall, broad shoulders, with wavy brown hair and wearing a surgeon’s cap?” Catherine winked over the top of the coffee cup she was holding up to her lips for a drink.

“Mostly.” Stephanie’s cheeks came forward with a light blush at Catherine’s comment. “Also about a curly gray haired entomologist with the bluest eyes, who’s going to have my hide when he figures out what I’ve been up to this week.” After nearly spitting her coffee out at the comment, Catherine realized that beverages were likely to always be a problem around Stephanie when she was talking, and she was always talking.

“Yeah, well, hopefully he’ll be a little too preoccupied to bust you for it until next week.” There was a slight pause as both women contemplated that statement, and then they both burst out laughing at the same time.

“Why do I think that’s the sound that should come before an air-raid siren?” Warrick walked up to their booth and motioned for Catherine to slide over so that he could sit down, “You two laughin’ like that can mean only one thing; you’re up to somethin’.” He reached over and took the remaining strip of bacon off of Catherine’s discarded plate. “Do I need to be worried?”

The look on Catherine’s face was priceless, because it was not often that she was speechless, but before she could swing back with a comment of her own the waitress walked up, “What can I get you, sweetie?”

Warrick scratched his chin a moment and then had an answer, “How about three eggs over easy, whole grain toast, bacon and hashbrowns? Oh, also some coffee and a glass of milk please.” The woman turned over a coffee cup and filled it up for him before walking away to put in his order. “So, what is the Terrible Duo up to tonight?”

Stephanie was the first to answer him, “Same thing we do every night, Pinky?” That time Catherine did spit out her coffee, but at least this time it was back into her cup as she started laughing.

Warrick gave them both a puzzled look, but decided to shrug it off, since he knew that some jokes were just not worth explaining. “Well, I checked in for a few before hittin’ this place… Looks like it’s gonna be a slow night.”

“Won’t that be nice for a change?” Catherine took a quick drink of her coffee when something strange hit her, “What are you doing here so early?”

Warrick tilted his head to the side, “That… Yeah, Tina ended up workin’ a double, and I didn’t want to wake her, so I just left for the lab when I got up, but the stomach was talkin’ trash to me.”

“Thomas said the hospital was a madhouse last night.” Stephanie wiped up the last of her syrup with her last bite of pancake, “His twenty four hour shift turned into almost twenty eight, and the poor guy was just not up to dealing with three women in his living room this morning.” She and Catherine both chuckled at her recap.

“Three?” Warrick raised his eyebrow at the count.

“Yeah, my Mom surprised us by flying in this morning, after we told her about the wedding.” She plopped the bite into her mouth as Warrick nodded at her explanation. As she finished chewing, she looked as though a light bulb had just gone off, “Oh! Hey, can you give me a lift home after shift? I left my car for Mom (Cath picked me up today), and Thomas wanted to talk to you.”

Warrick worked to recover from the request and process the information. He realized that Stephanie was obviously a “morning” person, or that she was just always going full bore, twenty four/seven. “Ah, yeah, I guess I could, since I gotta swing by the hospital and pick up Tina on my way home.” Catherine gave him a questioning look, so he explained further, “She’s dropping her car off at the shop on her way in, and it won’t be ready until the next afternoon.”

Catherine still was not buying it, “Something you couldn’t handle?”

“Nothin’ she wants me to handle… She has this weird thing ‘bout me workin’ on cars.” Warrick did his best to play it off as if it was nothing, but he could tell both women were just humoring him.

“Sounds like fun… Well, I would love to stay here and chat with you two a while longer, but if I don’t get over there and check the supervisor’s board, who knows what Gil has conveniently forgotten about.” Warrick slid out of the booth and offered Catherine a hand to get to her feet. “Have fun, kids.”

He sat back down as they watched her walk through the diner to the exit, Stephanie noticed that Warrick’s glance was a little more focused than hers, and wondered what had gone on there. She decided to store that little nugget of truth away for future mischief making purposes.

When Warrick turned back to her in the booth, he had a little sideways smile on his face, “So, Miss Thing, what’re you up to tonight?”

Before she could answer, the waitress had arrived with his food, so she waited for the woman to set the food down and clear the extra dishware prior to responding. As the waitress walked away, she spoke, “Well, unless something happens, I’ve got nothing going on… David called and told me to take my time, because we were clear tonight, and he’d page me if, or when there was a call.”

Warrick chuckled as he shoved the first bite of food into his mouth. Stephanie turned and stretched her legs out on the booth to get more comfortable. “So, what does Thomas want?”

“Oh, I have no idea… He just wanted me to make sure I told you to swing by and talk to him in the morning.” She chuckled as she thought of something, “We’ve been together for like seven years, but I still have no idea what’s going on in that brain of his sometimes.”

“You don’t sound too unhappy ‘bout that.” Warrick asked between bites.

“Are you kidding? It keeps things interesting!” They both had to laugh at that thought. “Besides, my folks were married a long time, and even though Mom had an inkling of an idea about how Pop worked, he still managed to surprise her every day.”

Warrick had a contented smirk on his face, “Sounds like they had it down.”

“Oh yeah, but not without sacrifice… I mean, Pop was a fairly confirmed bachelor when he met my mother. He was pushing fifty or so and Mom was in her early thirties. Neither one thought they’d ever meet someone that could put up with them.” She chuckled again, “I’ve always wondered what would make them think that, since they were always the coolest parents to me. Of course, as I’ve gotten older I can now see how they may have been a little odd for their time.”

Warrick looked confused, “When did they have you then?”

“Oh, well, Pop was fifty three and Mom was-… She was thirty five. I was something of a surprise for both of them.” Stephanie had a good laugh from her revelation.

“Oh yeah? You were one of those pranks the stork likes to play?” Warrick chuckled as he kept eating.

“You have no idea! Mom wasn’t supposed to be able to, which was one of the reasons she hadn’t married younger, and Pop had a vasectomy some time in the seventies. They used to refer to me as their little needle in the haystack.” That was too much for Warrick, and he nearly choked on his breakfast as he attempted to laugh.

“I guess that’s one way to put it.” Warrick shook his head and tried to dislodge the food from his larynx and continue breathing.

“They’re mostly responsible for my sense of humor… Gil just helped me refine it.” She winked at him and he chuckled again.

Stephanie was quiet for a little while, and Warrick took it as an opportunity to finish his meal without spewing it across the diner. When he was nearly done, she spoke again, “So, what should I do about Sara? I mean, I thought we had cleared the air last weekend, but I haven’t really seen her this week so far. In fact, if Gil hadn’t called me to look at that cut on her neck, I wouldn’t have seen her at all.”

Warrick could actually sense the pain those words had caused Stephanie, and he knew that she truly felt hurt by Sara’s lack of social graces. “Look, all I can tell you is Sara is a tough nut to crack… She doesn’t warm up to people right away, and sometimes, her shyness, comes off as kind of, well-…”

“Bitchy?”

He chuckled and nodded his head, “Exactly! How’d you get to be so good at reading people?”

“That would be Pop… He made his career on being able to read people.” She turned around in the seat to face him again, “He found me reading a book about understanding body language one time, and he told me that I would never truly learn that skill if I didn’t observe people in every conceivable situation. He said that it wasn’t about whether they looked left or right, but what was in their hearts and behind those eyes that mattered. And he also said that it wasn’t something you could learn; it was an instinct. Told me to study hard, learn as much as was possible and to use that knowledge to know when to trust my instincts. If all the books in the world say that the guy is lying, but your gut says to look deeper, then you owe it to yourself and that guy to do just that.” She sat back a little and a huge grin spread across her face, “I figure the man with the highest closure rate in the history of the SFPD might just have a point there.”

Warrick shook his head, “Can’t argue with that.” Warrick thought a little about her original question and added, “And with Sara, you gotta remember that she has some issues with Autopsy, ever since she became a vegetarian, so don’t take it personal.”

Stephanie thought about what he had said for a few moments before something struck her as odd, “Then how does she do her job at the scene?”

“Sorry, her issue with Autopsy, is that it reminds her of the meat packing places she’s seen. And with you in there carvin’ ‘em up, you can’t really blame the girl.” It was Warrick’s turn to make the joke and Stephanie’s turn to nearly lose the drink of coffee she had just taken before joining him in laughter.

“Well, that’s just another reason to get them together Friday night; so I can get to know her out of the lab. From everything I’ve heard, she sounds like someone I’d have a lot in common with, and that’s not so common for me.” Stephanie winked at Warrick with her jab at herself.

However, Warrick was ready to have the last word this time around, “You ain’t got to tell me. And I thank God for that fact every day.”

Chapter 27

A slow night in the crime lab was the last thing Sara Sidle was looking for tonight. She needed to be busy, and she needed to be busy really badly. Time to think was not what she wanted tonight. She wanted to do what she always did; numb her mind with the meticulous and overwhelming tasks of working a crime scene. Instead, she had already finished six reports and was desperately attempting to read a journal article without much success. Her mind kept wandering back to the night before, and the sensations of Grissom’s hands and breath on her neck; the sound of his voice and breath so close to her ear; and the look in those rich blue pools that were his eyes. Her heart was breaking with every replay of that scene in the Processing Room, but her mind refused to cease its attempt at making sense of the whole thing. She knew it was a pointless exercise, but it would simply not stop. And just when she thought her night could not possibly get any worse; everyone descended on the Break Room.

“C’mon, Bro… You can’t possibly expect me to believe that line of bull yer tryin’ to spread?” Nick had been in rare form all night, and his entrance proved that nothing had changed. “I mean really, there ain’t no way you can pull that off, I don’t care how smooth you think you are, ‘Rick.”

Warrick follwed closely behind him, with his arms up in a display of surrender, “Hey, it wasn’t me… The honey started the whole thing, but I’ve got the ring, Bro, so it was all hands off.” Warrick went to sit down at the table and noticed Sara sitting off to the side in the corner, “Hey Sar.”

Next in the door was Greg, and he was not buying Warrick’s story, “Oh man, you’re honestly telling us you didn’t even sample goods, Warrick?” Greg also noticed Sara in the corner, but chose to only nod his head at her to show that he had seen her.

“Not even a sniff, man… You have met my wife, right?” All three of the boys were laughing at Warrick’s intimation of his wife’s possible wrath when Catherine came in the door behind them.

“Hey, have you guys seen Sar-…” Her gaze fell upon Sara in the corner, “There you are! I was looking everywhere for you.” Catherine said as her hands went straight for her hips.

Nick was unable to control himself and had to comment, “You must’ve missed a spot.”

Catherine was just about to respond to his comment when Grissom appeared in the doorway, his arms overloaded with a large steaming box of containers, “Food’s here!” They all cleared a path for him to rest the box down on the table. “Since it was a slow night, after such a hectic couple of weeks, Cath and I thought it might be good if we treated you guys to lunch.” Grissom started to unload the cartons, each with a name on it, and the others began to greedily snatch up their respective prizes. Grissom looked around at the table and then looked up in confusion, “Where’s Sara?” When he turned his gaze a little he found her still hiding out in the corner, “There you are…” He started over to her with two containers in his hands, “I wasn’t sure if you’d want Egg Foo Yung or Kung Pao, so I figured I’d take whichever you didn’t want.” The smile on his face was genuine and it made Sara forget her pain, if only for a moment.

He stood in front on her with the containers, waiting for her to make her decision. Sara contemplated excusing herself and saying that she was not hungry, but she knew that would not go over well with everyone else, and would just lead to more questions, so she decided to bite the bullet and share a meal with her co-workers. She reached for the Kung Pao and took it from Grissom’s grasp. When she did, their fingers grazed each other momentarily, and the feeling was positively electric, but Sara had to struggle not to pull away too quickly so as not to draw attention to the moment. She tried to smile, but it came out as weak (almost trembling), and Grissom tilted his head with a puzzled expression on his face. Sara could tell he was about to say something, so she leaned forward in her chair to quickly move to the table and reached for some chopsticks from between Nick and Greg, and then she took the seat between Greg and Warrick. She was safely away from Grissom’s proximity; for the moment.

Sara watched Grissom return to the front of the table from the corner of her eye, and was infinitely grateful that he had chosen to let the moment between them drop. When her sideways glance made the full circuit of the table as he sat down, Sara was almost certain that she saw Catherine observing her look. She was obviously being paranoid, because when Catherine spoke, she seemed oblivious to the moment, “So, you guys better not get used to this kind of thing… Not unless the pay gets a whole lot better around here.” They all laughed at her candor as they dug into the food.

Greg kept looking over the table and into the box sitting beside Grissom, where he saw four more containers. Finally, his curiosity got the better of him, “Hey Boss… What’re those other cartons for?”

Grissom looked up from his Egg Foo Yung, then into the box, and then over at Greg. “You think we do this all by ourselves, Greg?” His answer was cryptic, as usual.

Before Greg could think of a properly sarcastic remark, part of his answer had arrived, “Nice page, Gris.” Detective Sofia Curtis came sauntering into the Break Room. “’Food… Now.’ Terribly effective.” She was smiling before she dipped her head into the box to find her food. Once she had recovered the container with her name on it, she took the seat closest to Grissom. Sara realized that either Sofia had not heard the news, or was trying her best to ignore it.

“That’s because my man is one of few words, Sofia.” Jim Brass came through the door right after the female detective, “Unless, of course, he is quoting some Shakespeare or an obscure piece of classical literature to make us all look like a bunch of schmoes. Right, Gil?” Brass patted his friend Grissom on the back as he was making his joke.

Grissom nodded his head, “Touché, my friend. Touché.”

Greg watched as the two detectives got their food and sat down at the table to eat, but he also realized there were two more containers. He opened his mouth to make another comment when David Phillips cautiously came to the doorway of the Break Room.

Grissom, sensing there was someone behind him, turned around in his seat, “Oh David… Come on in and have a seat.” David entered, still a little trepidatious about entering the CSI stomping grounds. Grissom reached into the box and pulled out the carton marked with the younger man’s name, “Here you are… Chicken Lo Mein, right?”

“Ah, yeah, right.” David took the container from Grissom and then stole a quick look around the table.

Nick motioned for David to head around on his side of the table, “Got a seat right here for ya, Super Dave.” David nodded his head and moved quickly to retrieve his seat and avoid any more attention.

Sofia, having settled herself decided to strike up some conversation with Grissom, “So, Gil, what made you decide to do this?”

Grissom turned to her with a raised eye brow, but before he could say anything, the answer to the question came from another voice behind him, “Someone must have finally knocked some sense into him.” Stephanie entered the room with her typically confident stride and stood directly behind Grissom’s back as everyone called out their hello’s. She looked around the table to size up the situation, “Well, it looks like the gang’s all here.” Sara noticed that she was still looking around and had made no attempt to sit down.

She realized, at apparently the same time as Grissom, that there were no other chairs. Grissom wiped off his mouth and quickly stood up. “We seem to be short a chair.” When he stood up, he placed a hand upon her forearm, and Sara found herself desperately wishing that it had been her, “Why don’t you take mine and I’ll go grab another from the next room.”

Stephanie bowed her head slightly in a mock gesture of gentility, “Why thank you, kind sir.” When the young red-head went to sit in the chair just vacated by Grissom, Sara noticed that she slid the chair to the side a bit, which placed her strategically between Sofia and Grissom. As much as Sara wanted to not like Stephanie, she had to admit that she was a sharp, intelligent and ballsy woman; everything that Grissom found attractive and she admired in others. Without waiting for any formalities, Stephanie took the initiative, “So, what are the current odds on Nick getting another date in this lifetime?” Several people around the room nearly spit out their food and Nick leaned back in his chair, his face flushed from top to bottom.

“You guys aren’t really runnin’ that bet, again?” His response got even more laughs from the assemblage. “Man, don’t you guys have nothin’ better to do with yer time?”

Stephanie chuckled as she reached for the final container, “Aw, sorry, Nick, but I just learned about this pool and I wanted in on the action. Besides, I’ve already witnessed your approach, and I think they might be overestimating your ability.” She winked at him with her statement, and even Sara was having a hard time not laughing at his predicament.

Thankfully for Nick, Grissom re-entered the room with another chair, “Would you guys please leave Nick alone.” There was a hint of mischief in his eyes, but when he spoke again there was no need for a hint, “Besides, his track record is pathetic enough, without you folks reminding him of it constantly. Isn’t that right, Whistle Boy?” Nick was cringing badly at Grissom’s reminder of his incident in the morgue two weeks ago.

“You know about that, too?” Nick was visibly worried about that revelation.

“Departmental email.” Catherine just had to add her own touch to the baiting, and the room was reduced to a howl in honor of her perfect retort.

Sara looked up from her food and glanced around the room. Gathered together in one place was her entire world: all of her friends and cohorts; all of her hopes and dreams; all of her pain and heartache; all of her professional and personal aspirations. She quickly had to look back down into her food container because of the tears that were threatening to break forth. When she reached for a napkin, she realized that someone had been paying attention to her bout of reverie, “Sara?”

Grissom’s voice both delighted and deflated her, but she knew she had to come up with something fast to change the focus, “S’okay, I just bit into a pepper.” The room let loose with a chorus of “oh’s” and Brass grabbed a bottled water from the refrigerator and passed it down the line to her.

So, this is my life now; terrible pain and little joys. Way to go, Sidle.

Chapter 28

Another night, another crime scene: that seemed to be Sara’s life story. She did not know when her life had become this intertwined mass of case after case with nothing else to keep her warm at night outside of the satisfaction of closing a case. She just knew that without her hope for a relationship with Grissom, she was not sure why she still felt a need to stay in Las Vegas. In many ways, she had given up her hope a long time ago, long before Stephanie MacInnerney showed up, but until that day, she had always kept that little flame alive somewhere in the back of her mind. Seeing Grissom with Stephanie, and knowing how much happier he had become since her arrival should have snuffed that little flame right out. However, Sara distinctly felt like the flame had been fanned into a pyre. She guessed that her heart was just as masochistic as the rest of her, because it would appear that the flame was working to burn out anything and everything that had ever been touched by Gil Grissom. The trouble was, that was everything Sara held dear, and with his recent behavior she had come to care for him even more.

Sara wondered if Grissom had any idea what his kindnesses were doing to her everyday, but she then remembered that even Grissom could not be changed that much. He was still the socially and emotionally oblivious man he had always been; that was likely to never change. Sara knew that he was just expressing himself the only way he could, and he would never be able to see that she wanted so much more from him. For that, she was actually glad, because she did truly care for the man, and if being with Stephanie was making him happy, she could not deny him that bliss.

If Sara was honest with herself, she would also admit that Stephanie was probably the perfect person for Grissom. She matched or exceeded the man in every aspect, and it appeared to give them an amazing amount of comfort with each other that Sara had never seen in Grissom. Even with Catherine, Grissom was never so free with his words or deeds, and she was quite certain Catherine was probably his best friend; her and Brass.

Sara knew that everyone was pleased with the new coroner, and even she had discovered that she was a talented and easily likeable young woman. Young woman. Sara repeated that phrase over and over in her mind, and the reason behind it made her want to cry. Sara had always assumed Grissom had problems with their age difference and that it was one of the primary reasons for him not wanting to start a relationship with her. That little illusion had been wiped away when Sara learned how old Stephanie was from Greg. Sara had more than a few years on the doctor, so obviously Grissom was not bothered by an age difference.

No, Sara was quickly coming to the conclusion that Grissom was going to be much better off without ever delving into a relationship with her. They were both slightly broken people, and it was becoming painfully obvious to Sara that he had found someone to heal his soul. That led her to the equally obvious conclusion that she had not found that person yet. She still needed someone to fix her.

Thankfully, before she had anymore time to go further down those roads of thought, she felt a buzzing in her ears. As she returned her focus to the outside world, she found Nick standing beside her trying to get her attention, “Earth to Sara… Come in Sara.” When he saw that her eyes had returned to focus, he let out a small laugh, “Nice to have ya back with us, Sar. Where in the world were you at, girl?”

Nick’s smile was the first thing Sara focused on, and it threw her off for a moment, “Huh? Oh yeah, sorry about that… What did you need?” She struggled to bring her mind out of the fog of introspection as she spoke.

Nick gave her the concerned brother look and put a hand on her shoulder, “Are you sure yer okay?”

Sara smiled at him. She knew that Nick cared about her well-being, and she appreciated his attention, but she was not ready to talk about everything just yet, “I will be. Can that be enough for now?”

“For now.” Nick was content with her answer, but he wanted to add one last proviso, “As long as you tell me when it’s not workin’… Deal?”

“Deal.” She knew that no matter what, if she needed him, Nick would be there for her; he was just that kind of guy. He simply knew no other way to be a friend. “Now, what do we have left here?”

Nick looked around the room briefly, “Well, you got all the prints, and I got everything that could have been used as the murder weapon and scanned the area for other trace evidence. Sooooooo… I think that just about does it.” Sara joined him in looking around the room once more and nodded her head, “Awright, I’ll pack this stuff up and take it out to the car, if you wanna release the scene to PD?”

She nodded once more, “Sounds like a plan… Meet you back at the car.” She headed out to speak to the officers on duty at the door as Nick started putting everything into evidence boxes. When she stole one more look back at the diligent man, she realized why she was staying in Las Vegas. It may not be a conventional family, but the people she had found here had become her family. And as dysfunctional as they might appear to be on the surface, they were the most functional family Sara Sidle had ever been a part of in her lifetime. All that was left to do was to find some kind of closure to her other problem and life could be good for her. Trouble was, she still was not sure she even wanted that closure; not just yet.

Chapter 29

She had been hoping for a nice quiet ride back to the lab, but Sara’s first mistake was in letting Nick drive. The second was in letting him chose the radio station. She had already been treated to his interpretation of “Ole Lonesome Me” and a particularly obnoxious version of “Stand By Your Man.” It was just her luck that he had found a classic country radio program playing at that moment. Her only hope now was to try and convince him to find something, anything else to listen to for their ride.

“Nick, please turn the station, man… You’re killing me with that twang.” Sara pleaded to him through a pained and pouty expression.

Nick laughed at her attempt to persuade him with her feminine whiles, “That stuff don’t work on me, Sar.” They were still playing commercials on the radio, so he figured he had a little more time, “Tell ya what… You give me one more song, and I’ll change it to something else, deal?”

“Thank you!” Sara agreed quickly, because at this rate, she would be ready to get her own pickup truck and a hound dog in no time flat.

When the last commercial faded out, she was counting the seconds until she was finally rid of the hillbilly music that Nick seemed to be so fond of. When the song began to play, she realized she had gotten her hopes up too soon.

Crazy I'm crazy for feelin' so lonely.
I'm crazy, crazy for feelin' so blue.

It could have been any song, so why did it have to be this one, she thought. Sara was not sure why whatever god there was had become so mad at her, but she needed to figure out what it was and fix it fast.

I knew you'd love me as long as you wanted
and then some day you'd leave me for somebody new.

The last thing I need is to hear these damned lyrics. She did not understand why Nick could not see how much this song was hurting her at that moment, but he was too busy paying attention to the road.

Worry, why do I let myself worry
wondering what in the world did I do.

Oh my god! If I wasn’t crazy before, now it’s confirmed. Sara was getting dangerously close to losing her control. This song hit way to close to home for her comfort.

Crazy for thinking that my love could hold you.
I'm crazy for trying
and crazy for crying
and I'm crazy for loving you.

Just when Sara thought she was going to shatter into a million pieces, the radio was suddenly turned to another station. “I can’t listen to that song sober… Depresses me too bad.”

Sara struggled to pull herself together long enough to turn away from the window and talk to Nick. She knew that if she remained silent for too long, he would grow concerned. She steeled herself to looking in his direction and as she turned she spoke, “And what does it do for you when you’re drunk?”

“Oh Sara, you ain’t heard singin’ ‘til you catch me wailin’ away on a few too many.” As much as Sara felt like she was about to fall apart, Nick was always able to find a way to make her laugh, and so she did. “Finally!”

When she was able to stop laughing she had to ask, “Finally, what?”

Nick shook his head before answering, “I been waitin’ all shift for my friend Sara to show up. Where’s she been tonight? Or for that matter all week?”

She took a deep breath, because she knew this had been building up for a while, “I’ve just been a little out of it, I guess. Nothing that won’t pass, Nicky. I swear.”

Nick reached across the car and laid a hand on her forearm, “Well, you know I’m here for you, right? I mean, I know I ain’t been the best person to lean on lately, but I’m there if you need me, Sar.” The concern in his voice was obvious and Sara had to admit that she loved him all the more for it.

“I know, Nick… And if I thought it would help, you’d be the first… Honest.” She looked directly at him as she spoke, to make sure he knew that she was being totally honest with him. Nick had been there for her more times than she could even begin to count. And although her friendship with Warrick was just as real, Nick seemed to have this amazing timing when it came to being a knight in shining armor sometimes. Sara may have been lacking in a protective family when she was growing up, but she now had it in spades. She knew without a doubt that these men would step in front a train to save her (even when that train was actually Sara, herself).

When he returned his focus to the road, Nick was satisfied that Sara would be fine. He had been sensing for some time that she was working through her problems with Grissom, but he had also been caught up in his own problems a lot as of late and he worried that maybe he had been lacking in his duties as a true friend. Unlike Nick, Sara did not have another family to fall back on when she was in need, and he felt an obligation to be that family for her. Nick felt blessed to have come from such an amazing family, but when people like Sara came into his life he almost felt guilty for how good he had it growing up. In his guilt, he did everything he could to make sure those people knew how much they meant to him, and with Sara it went double. Even when they were competing with each other for that promotion, he still felt that way about her. He knew it was not infatuation, or any kind of romantic interest, because he had never felt that way about her, but he knew that he would always be there if she needed him. Besides, Nick knew that Sara carried a serious torch for Grissom, and most everyone else had figured it out a long time ago. In fact, it was one of the few things that Nick had any animosity towards Grissom about; his inability to see her affection for him or, if he did see, that he had never had the guts to do anything about it. Nick and everyone else on their team knew that Grissom had feelings for Sara that went way over to another level than that of the rest of his team. It was just that he was either too afraid or too stubborn to do anything about it. For that, Nick felt very sorry for the both of them.

That made the last few weeks somewhat ironic for Nick. While it seemed that Sara was cleansing herself of the last vestiges of her attraction to Grissom, he actually appeared to be making a real effort to connect with her on another level. He decided that it really was true; timing was everything. And this time, Grissom’s timing was way off.

That thought stayed with Nick for the rest of their long drive from Boulder City back to the lab. They were not silent for the journey, but the rest of their conversations definitely bordered on small talk and dealt mostly with the scene they had processed that night, and that seemed to suit them both just fine. Everything that needed to be said had already passed between them, and they both understood that. Nick only wished that he could do something to help her through this rough patch, but he also knew from experience that sometimes a person just needed to do it on their own.

Chapter 30

The reception area was as busy as usual, with officers, and techs and witnesses and suspects, and visitors flowing in and out of the area at totally random intervals. The only thing that seemed uncharacteristically out of place was the sedate and classy looking older woman sitting patiently in the chairs. She had her silver hair pulled back from her face with a large, but simple leather barrette behind her head. A stray curl had fallen from it and framed her delicate features nicely. She was paying no attention to the sea of people ebbing and flowing around her, but instead she was focused on the book in her lap. The only indication that she was animated at all was the occasional reach up to reposition the half glasses resting on her nose as they gradually slid down to the edge. She was completely at peace in her book and did not notice the arrival of anyone else to the reception area.

As Grissom was checking his final messages at the front desk, he looked up from the slips of paper momentarily and made a slight glance towards the chairs. He removed the glasses from his face when he had the faintest notion that he had recognized someone over there, so he took a better look. Upon finding the suspect person, a sly grin began to form on the left side of his mouth. He thanked the receptionist and put his messages with the folder he had been carrying, and began walking over to the chairs to greet the mysterious arrival.

He was standing directly in front of her, but the woman did not appear to notice his presence at all, so he decided to make it known to her. “Elizabeth?”

The woman had made not a sound or a move until she had reached the end of her page. She then placed her bookmark gently between the pages, closed the book, removed her glasses and looked up. “I was wondering if you were just going to stand there like a ghost, Gil.” The older woman smiled and it lit up her face, taking twenty years away from her.

That time Grissom did not hold back and smiled fully, “Elizabeth, I had no idea you were in town. When did you get in?”

After putting her book away in her bag, she pulled the strap onto her shoulder and stood up. Grissom was quick to offer his arm for her to steady herself on and she smiled at his gentility. “Ever the gentleman, Gil?” He demurred at her question and she smiled as she took his arm. “Unlike some of your traits, it is a comfort to learn it hasn’t changed.”

Grissom nodded his head and then asked, “Are you avoiding my question, Beth?”

She smiled and then answered, “Avoiding, no. Just stalling.” Her response puzzled Grissom, but he decided to take her at her word and they began to walk towards the reception desk.

When they reached the desk , Grissom got the attention of the young woman behind the desk, “Ah Cindy.”

She turned to find Grissom standing in front of her with an older, but still attractive woman on his arm. “Yes, Dr. Grissom.”

“Can I get a visitor’s badge for Dr. MacInnerney, please?” He smiled at Elizabeth when he spoke.

The receptionist’s face was a testament to her state of confusion, “But, I don’t understand. I thought she was down-.”

“No, this would be Dr. Elizabeth MacInnerney.”

The girl’s face immediately registered her error and she turned to the small printing machine behind her, “OH! Well, then just a sec…” She typed on the keyboard of the machine for a moment and then it kicked into high gear with a whirring sound. Soon, it was spitting out a small visitor’s badge. “Here you are; one visitor’s badge.” She smiled broadly and handed the badge and a clip to Grissom.

Elizabeth took the badge from him and attached it to her lapel. Grissom turned back to the receptionist, “When Dr. MacInnerney comes out, would you please direct her to my office, Cindy?”

“Sure thing, Dr. Grissom.”

The two then walked through the doors to the lab and made their way down the hallway. “Seems there are a few people here who respect you, Gil,”

He shrugged her off, “They’re still new.” They both chuckled at his joke. “Are you planning to stall the question forever, or is there a specific point of reference I should be aware of, Beth?”

She gave him an enigmatic smile, “No great secret… I came out early when I learned of Stephanie’s plan to speed up the wedding.” Grissom nodded his understanding on they walked, “I thought she would need the help, since she is not much for planning big parties. However, I was unaware of the existence of her newest conspirator.”

Grissom cocked his eyebrow, “Conspirator? You must mean Catherine… And what exactly are they conspiring about?”

Elizabeth laughed as his suspicion, “Oh, you know Stephie, she keeps those cards very close to her vest. I just know that Catherine has done quite a bit of work helping to get this wedding to happen properly.” Grissom nodded again and was content with her explanation.

Elizabeth kept her hand looped into the crook of his arm for the duration of their journey. Gil had always been a gentleman, and she hated to admit it, but his traditional ways were something she had always admired. That was quite an admission for a woman who came up as a single, professional woman during the sixties and seventies. She had fought for everything she had gained, and her reward came from the life it had provided to her daughter and every other girl of that generation. None of them knew of a world where sexual discrimination was something that was not merely tolerated, but that could now be considered a punishable offense. However, as much as she valued her freedom, Elizabeth MacInnerney also treasured her femininity, and as such, she had spent a lifetime treading a very fine line. What she admired in Gil most was his intimate understanding of that fine line, and he seemed to always be surrounded by strong women who were just as in touch with their feminine side. She imagined that his mother (yet another strong woman) had a great deal to do with that aspect of his personality. “So, do you enjoy working in such a modern facility, Gil?” She said as she looked around as they walked.

“I enjoy the work, and the technology does aide that work. However, I have to admit that the stark lines can sometimes give the whole place a very overwhelming effect. And I’m not terribly fond of the lighting most of the time.” Elizabeth had noticed that it appeared quite dark most of the time, though she imagined it was due in part to the work they were doing. But looking around, she could understand why Stephanie had described her godfather as being desperately out of touch with the state of his life. Elizabeth realized that Gil had done what he always did; lost himself in his own mind with his work as the primary distraction. And though she was not happy about Stephanie being so far away, she was glad that she was near Gil, where he could be there for her if she needed someone, and where she could be there to remind him of his own humanity. Stephanie had been that force in the lives of Elizabeth and her husband, and when Gil was in San Francisco, she had seen that same light in his eyes as well. She was simply one of those people that reminded you, merely with her presence that life was worth living.

Elizabeth was about to make a remark to Grissom when another voice intruded on their polite conversation, “Dr. Mac? Is that really you?” The voice belonged to Greg Sanders as he hung his whole body out of the Layout Room as the two had passed him.

“Gregory, I see your affection for hair gel has not worn off.” She instantly recognized her former student. Elizabeth was quite certain the boy had a negative sense of fashion, and seeing him again only confirmed that it had not been a passing phase.

“Wow! I can’t believe you remembered me. It’s great to see you, Dr. Mac. I almost couldn’t believe it when Wendi told me your daughter was our new coroner.” Greg took the hand she had offered him and held it gently, instead of shaking it, “Man, she is some piece of work, ya know. Of course you know, she’s your daughter. I mean, she’s fantastic. We’ve all been really glad to have her aboard.” Greg was talking a mile a minute, which wasn’t unusual, but he did seem somewhat nervous to be in the presence of this woman.

“Thank you, I’ll be sure to let her know that she is appreciated. What are you doing with yourself, Gregory?” Grissom made notice that she was using his full name, and he stored that away to ask about later.

“Well, I used to work in DNA as a tech, but I was looking for something meatier, so I finally convinced Grissom to let me become a CSI, so that’s what I’m doing. I’m only a CSI-1 right now, but I’m getting the hang of things now and I’m really liking the full spectrum of the job. And I really should thank you.” Greg was still rambling on, but when he paused, Elizabeth replayed the last phrase in her mind to find the appropriate response.

“Why is that, Gregory?”

“Well, to be honest… It was you and Inspector Mac that first gave me the idea I could do this stuff. Those lectures he’d give about applying science to criminology; I went every year. You gave me the knowledge I needed to get into DNA when I went to grad school and all, and the way you made us write analysis in the lab. Between the both of you, you got me here, eventually.” He finally drew a breath again, “Thank you. I just wanted to take the opportunity to say that.”

Elizabeth bowed her head and laid her other hand over the top of the one he was holding, “You are very welcome, Gregory, and I am certain that my husband would have been pleased to know that those lectures were not wasted. But, you should also thank your supervisor here… He was the inspiration behind my husband giving those lectures.” She looked over at Gil who was attempting to appear smaller in that moment.

“Seriously? Wow, that’s awesome, Grissom. So, that means you worked with Inspector Mac? Color me impressed.” Grissom gave Greg a dissenting raise of his eyebrow and Greg’s tone immediately changed, “Well, you know what I mean… But I guess I should get back to work and leave you to it, huh?” Greg actually had shrunk in those brief moments.

“Smartest thing I’ve heard you say in the last few minutes.” And with that Grissom and Elizabeth watched Greg disappear in to the room he had come from. “Sorry about that… He’s a little excitable.”

Elizabeth simply shook her head, “Always was, I’m afraid… Looks like his fashion sense wasn’t the only thing he hasn’t outgrown yet.” Grissom chuckled a bit and gestured for the two of them to continue their walk to his office.

“So, I noticed you called him Gregory… Why is that?” Grissom was certainly curious to hear her explanation.

“Oh, well… He was a bit younger than the other students, and that face, believe it or not, looked even younger then. Anyway, I told him that I would not use a nickname for him because he needed all the help he could get in gaining respect. Until he could grow up and look like an adult, he was at least going to have an adult moniker.” When he looked over at her expression, Grissom was unable to completely contain the laughter that hit him with her statement.

“By that standard, he’ll be collecting Social Security long before you’d call him Greg?”

His raised eyebrow punctuating that question was all Elizabeth needed before she too was laughing at the humor of the whole thing. “Indeed.”

When she entered his office, she was not at all surprised or shocked by the walls lined with his various specimens and experiments. After all, she had seen his apartment when he lived in San Francisco. She was just relieved that he had chosen to keep these things at his office instead of his home now.

He pulled out one of the chairs in front of his desk and offered it to her, “Is there anything I can get you while we wait for that daughter of yours?”

“No, I’m quite fine.” She gestured around the room as he took the chair opposite her in front of his desk, “I see you finally moved these out of your home, and I must say it is a far more fitting place for them.” Her eye glanced the walls with a bit more precision now, “But whatever did you do with the rest of your insect collection? I cannot even fathom your giving up that magnificent butterfly collection you’ve amassed.”

He shook his head and chuckled, but before he could answer, he found that there was someone leaning over him with her arms wrapped around him, “Are you kidding, Mom? He’s still got those over at his place. And he easily has twice as many as when he left the Bay Area.” Stephanie craned her head around to look him in the eye, “Isn’t that right?” Gil nodded his head and she kissed him on the cheek before she stood up to give her mother the same treatment. “So what’s the big idea of stealing my mother away to the freak show? The poor woman is about to have breakfast and you bring her in here to spoil her appetite.” She winked at both of them before plopping down on the edge of Gil’s desk, positioned equally between them.

“Stephie, I lived with your father’s crime scene photos at the breakfast table for far too many years to lose my appetite over a bunch of specimens and experiments.”

“She’s got a point,” Stephanie winked at Gil again. “So, what say you join us for breakfast, Gil? I’m sure Mom would enjoy catching up with you, seeing as I KNOW you haven’t seen her since the funeral.” Stephanie was full of energy, as usual, even for this late in the day for them.

“Well, I may not have seen your mother, but we talk at least once a month. Like clockwork.” Gil gave her his famous glare before continuing after she had given him a gesture of acquiescence. “However, I would be delighted to join you ladies for breakfast.”

“Sweet! Then let’s go!” Stephanie jumped to her feet, and held her hand out to assist her mother in rising from her seat.

Grissom led them out the door, closed and locked it, before offering his arm to both women for their journey through the hallways of the lab.

When she thought she heard Grissom walking by, Sara Sidle leaned her head out of the Processing Room to ask him a question when she was greeted with the site of Grissom walking arm and arm with Stephanie and an older woman as they were headed down the hallway. She would have continued to watch the display if Greg had not nearly taken her head off as he rushed through the hall. “Whoa! Sorry Sar. You okay?”

“Yeah, fine.”

She was about to return to her task, when Greg spoke again as he noticed her watching Grissom leave. “Talk about a small world, huh?”

Sara was not sure what he was talking about, “What do you mean?”

“Oh Stephanie’s Mom… She was my professor at Stanford… Wendi, too.” Greg turned and was about to continue his path when Sara spoke again.

“That was her mother?”

“Yeah, Stephanie said she was in town to help plan something and was meeting her for breakfast.” Greg was laughing at something he remembered, “Told me she was gonna get Grissom for stealing her from reception before she could get there.” Greg walked away shaking his head and chuckling.

Sara returned to finishing up her work for the night, her shoulders visibly lower and the air in the room had grown decidedly stagnant.

Chapter 32

In the hallway outside of the Autopsy Room the sounds of metal crashing onto the tile floor rung out through the corridor and into the stairwell Sara Sidle was making her way through at that moment. The sound made her jump, but when the realization that the sound might also mean that someone could be hurt her adrenaline kicked in and she rushed for the doors. The sight that beheld her when she entered was more than she could have ever been prepared for in a million years.

As she pushed open the doors to the morgue, there was a metal tray being dragged across the floor with the door. When she located the tray behind the door she could also see a trail of instruments scattered across the floor. As her eyes traced the debris field she found the source of the disaster in the form of a long-legged, red haired coroner unceremoniously seated on the floor with her legs sprawled and rubbing her forehead. At first, Sara was concerned that the young woman was truly hurt, but when she looked at the expression on her face she had to hold a hand up to her mouth to keep from bursting out laughing.

Before she could say anything, Stephanie beat her to the punch, “Don’t say it.” The woman was obviously embarrassed by the situation.

Sara was seriously struggling to contain her laughter, “So, um… You want some help?” Her last word contained a hint of giggle.

Stephanie closed her eyes tightly, “Just as soon as the little birdies stop flying around my head.”

Sara gingerly stepped over the strewn instruments and moved closer to Stephanie, “What exactly happened?” The coroner finally removed her hand from her forehead, and Sara could see the large, inflamed and red knot already starting to form there. “Oh man… You’re gonna need some ice for that one.”

Stephanie planted her hands down on the floor behind her, “Are you sure we can’t amputate?” That was too much for Sara and she finally busted a gut.

“For some reason, I think that might make doing your job a little hard.” Sara held out her hands and gestured for Stephanie to take hold. With a great effort and some counter balancing the two women were able to return Stephanie to her feet. When she wobbled a bit Sara took hold of her by the arms, “Whoa… Are you sure you’re okay?”

Taking a deep breath, Stephanie steadied herself before she answered the concerned question, “I’ll let you know when the room stops spinning.”

As humorous as the situation may have appeared at first, Sara became concerned that it might be more serious than it looked, “Hey, maybe we should call someone. Maybe get you some help.”

Stephanie leaned back against the wall a moment and held up her hand, “Please, I’ve had my bell rung harder than that on the court. I just need to wait for the fog to clear and I’ll be fine.” When the color started to return to her face she added, “Besides, I was just suffering from elevation sickness.”

Sara’s face contorted into a question, “How do you mean?”

Stephanie took on a devilish expression, “From zero to six four in under three seconds.”

For about half a second Sara tried to suppress her laughter, but that was about as long as it lasted, and both women had a good laugh at Stephanie’s expense. “Okay, but at least let me get you some ice for that goose-egg.” Stephanie nodded slightly with her agreement and Sara walked away from the dazed young doctor to retrieve some ice from the office refrigerator.

When Sara returned to the Autopsy Room, she found Stephanie leaning over cautiously to retrieve some of the items on the floor, “And what do you think you’re doing?”

Stephanie popped up quickly and paid the price for her speed with the throbbing in her head, “Owwww.”

“Exactly… Now sit down,” Sara pulled the chair around to Stephanie and handed her a couple of pills, “Take these Tylenol and put this on that knot before I give you a new one.” Stephanie tilted her head slightly and acquiesced as she took a seat on the chair.

Sara bent down and started to collect the scattered items across the floor. As she was gathering up the instruments she had a sideways smile on her face because of the irony of the situation she found herself in at that moment. There she was, looking after the woman who had taken away what she held dear like some kind of big sister. In that moment, she was forced to deal with the fact that Stephanie had not taken anything from her, because he was never hers to begin with. She also realized that if she had ever met Stephanie under any other circumstances, they probably would already be trading horror stories of the day over a beer after shift. The two women had a great deal in common and Sara knew that she should be working in concert with the gifted pathologist, instead of trying to keep her at arm’s length as she had been. Sara decided that whatever else she did, she needed to make peace with this thing and she needed to do it fast. Her distance was becoming evident to everyone around her, and she did not want this thing to get any worse. Stephanie had done nothing wrong and Sara needed to get over it.

She had the last of the items in her hands and had reached the tray by the doorway. Grabbing it and dumping the items onto it, Sara turned back to Stephanie and walked to where she was sitting with the ice pack over her head as she leaned it against the exam table behind her. “Is that helping?”

“It makes the pretty colors brighter… Does that count?” Sara chuckled at her response.

“Somehow, I don’t think so.” Sara set the tray down on the table and moved Stephanie’s hand that held the ice pack, “Well, the swelling is going down, but I still think we should have someone take a look at that.”

“Got a mirror?”

Sara was a little confused by the question, but she looked around the room and found a small mirror on the counter at the far wall. She walked over and retrieved it for whatever purpose Stephanie has asked for it. Handing it to the young woman, she remarked, “Here’s one, but why?”

Stephanie set the ice pack down on the table behind her and took the mirror. She focused her eyes and gazed at the goose-egg on her forehead for half a minute, “Frontal contusion, no internal swelling, existing external swelling ceased and dissipating. Minor injury requiring dispensing of Tylenol and application of ice to wound. Discharged.” She put the mirror down and smiled at Sara, “I saw someone… Happy now?”

She could not help but smirk at Stephanie’s sarcasm, “Yeah, I guess that’ll have to do, smart ass.” Sara looked around the room again and was trying to figure out how Stephanie had ended up on the floor like that, but there did not appear to be anything to cause the injury to her head like that, so she was forced to ask, “So, how in the world did you knock yourself out?”

Stephanie returned the ice pack to her forehead and leaned her head back again, but this time she pointed up with her other hand, “The ALM.” Sara followed her hand up and saw the light and camera system that worked on an octopus of swing arms. “Al must have been the last one at this table and I guess I wasn’t paying attention when I was walking through the room. Smacked right into it and ended up getting dumped on my ass with some pretty stars blinking all around my head.”

“Well, that does explain one thing.” It was Sara’s turn for the devilish expression.

“What’s that?”

“Your attraction to riding around on that stool all the time.” Sara smirked again,

“Yeah, that and it gives you Amazon woman thighs.” That was too much for Sara and she was laughing at the comment, and at the same time she wanted to remember that line for future mischief making opportunities. “So, to what due I owe the honor of your presence?”

Busted. Sara instantly realized that Stephanie had noticed her avoidance of the Autopsy Room that week. “Ah, well, two things… First, I need the final on that stabbing vic from yesterday.”

Stephanie reached behind her to the stack of folders setting on the exam table and handed them all to Sara, “In there somewhere… Next.”

She was not making it easy on Sara, but Sara knew that she deserved it. She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, “Well, yeah… I wanted to thank you for cleaning up my neck the other night and to kind of apologize.”

“Apologize? Why? I just cleaned up that cut on your neck and bandaged it up… Did I miss something again?” Stephanie had removed the ice pack and was looking Sara in the eye, which was not making it any easier for her.

“No, not about that, it’s just I um… I’m sure you’ve noticed I haven’t really been down here.” She watched Stephanie nod and continued, “Yeah, so I’ve kind of been dealing with some stuff and-.”

“That’s okay, Warrick kind of explained it to me, so don’t sweat it. I can always have David run your reports upstairs, if you want.” Sara was trying desperately not to look so surprised, but her mind was racing a million miles a minute. “I can understand that kind of stuff, and I don’t want to make it any worse.”

All the scenarios running through her head were making her a little insane in that instant, and needed to find something to say, “Yeah, well, I appreciate that. But I just wanted to make sure you knew it wasn’t really you, it’s just something I have to get through on my own, ya know.”

Stephanie slowly rose from her chair and went to walk past Sara, but she stopped long enough to put a hand on her shoulder, “Well, if you need any help with that, just holler… You know where to find me.” She smiled at Sara and the caring she saw there nearly broke her heart.

Chapter 33

The normal chatter coming from the break room told Grissom that the gang was all there. He flipped through the assignment sheets once more before taking those last few steps into view. He was running it over in his head again, and he just wanted to make sure that it sounded as logical to everyone else as he had justified it in his head. If this was ever going to work then he had to make sure he always played his cards very close to the vest.

He took one solid, deep breath, letting it out slowly and then pushed forward into the Break Room, “Okay, we’ve got a busy night, but only because we need to double up on a couple.”

Nick looked around searching for someone, “Hey Gris… Where’s Cath?”

Grissom looked up from his clipboard, “What? Oh, yeah, she’s got court. So, she’s pulling half a shift here at the lab. We’re on our own tonight in the field.” He returned his attention to his clipboard as everyone got ready to take on their assignments for the night. “Okay, Warrick… I want you to take Greg on this one, and let him take lead. You’re doing his eval tonight. DUI, reckless driving, vehicular homicide.” Warrick nodded as he took the slip from Grissom.

“Sounds quick,” Warrick remarked.

Grissom gave him a raised eyebrow in judgment, “Which is why it’s a good evaluation case for Greg. It is also why you’re on call with dispatch tonight.” Nick slapped Warrick on the back and laughed at the man’s predicament. They all knew what being on call meant in their profession; Warrick and Greg would be running calls all night. “And then we have the DB found in a dumpster one block off the UNLV campus. Nicky, that one has your name all over it.”

Taking the slip from Grissom’s grasp Nick was visibly unhappy, “I knew I should’ve worn my other shoes.”

“Okay, that leaves us with the Rape/Homicide at the Palms.” Grissom looked back down at his notes and waited to hear if there was any reaction in the room. When he detected none he continued, “Sara, you’re going to run lead on this one.” He paused again, hoping his next landmine would not explode in his face, “Catherine’s going to run the body, which is en route now, and I will be the secondary on the scene.”

“Wait, why do I need babysitting?” There it was, and now Grissom needed to minimize the damage.

“Not babysitting, Sara. This is a high profile case and the Sheriff was very specific in how the case was to be handled and more specifically who was handling it.” He could see that although her anger was still present, she did appear to be calming down a bit. “Catherine and I are taking secondary at his request, but he wanted the primary to be the person in the department with the highest closure rate on rape cases. It just so happens that Sara is that person.” Everyone in the room nodded their heads in silent agreement. They all knew that Sara was the person any of them wanted investigating a rape, because she was insanely thorough and dedicated to any case involving violence on women. “Satisfied?”

Sara sat back in her seat with a small feeling of vindication stirring in her soul. The look on her face nearly matched that feeling, but her words remained guarded, “Fine, but if I’ve got lead, that means I really have lead. No relief pitching in this inning, got it?”

Grissom held up his hands in mock surrender, “Strictly a bench warmer on this one.” Sara nodded her head with her sense of victory. “Okay, that should do it. Just remember to check with dispatch when you change locations. Ecklie has some bee in his bonnet about time statistics at the moment, so try not to forget.” Grissom returned to his clipboard, not expecting anymore questions.

“Dispatch?” Sara questioned.

“Yes, why?”

“Well, that just seems redundant and ridiculous for us to call into Dispatch and increase their call volume when all he has to do is pull a GPS report from our phones.” Sara’s face was a mass of confusion from the request.

Then it was Grissom’s turn to be confused, “Really, you can do that?”

Catherine chose that moment to make her presence in the doorway known, “Of course, Gil… All of our phones are GPS enabled.” Catherine put a hand on her cocked hip and added her opinion to the scenario, “Sounds to me like someone is trying to artificially inflate the call volume in Dispatch.”

“I hadn’t thought about that, but I was thinking the GPS reports could just be one more way for them to track the evidence by showing precise times and locations of collection.” Sara and Catherine appeared to be brainstorming on this new development and it sparked something in Grissom’s mind.

“I’ll tell you what, you two put that stuff into a one page proposal, and I’ll submit it to the Under Sheriff. With full credit going to you both, of course.” Grissom had that glint of mischievousness in his crystal blue eyes, “It’d be nice to have ole Ecklie over the barrel for a change.” Everyone laughed and took that as their cue to depart for the evening.

Catherine, Sara and Grissom remained to conference about their high-profile case. And once everyone else had cleared the room Catherine began, “Look, Sara… You need to watch your toes over at that crime scene. The vic is the niece of one of the gambling commissioners, which is where all the heat is coming from right now.”

“That explains a lot, but what’s going on at the scene?” Sara spoke freely with Catherine, and Grissom silently wondered when the two women had finally put their differences aside.

“Not only is the vic connected, but so is the key suspect. Last guy to be seen with her is the assistant manager of security at the Palms.” Catherine’s voice took on a conspiratorial aire, and Grissom felt like a bit of an outsider during the briefing.

“Great,” Sara exhaled sharply. “So, the vic is related to the gaming commissioner, and the only suspect helps run the casino where the vic was found… How am I supposed to find evidence then? You know that scene’s been tampered with.”

Grissom had to interject that time, “Sara, we can’t go making assump-“

“Please Grissom… I’ve been in Vegas more than long enough to know how these things work around here. That scene has been sanitized for certain.” Sara was being very dismissive of Grissom’s advice. “Okay, we’ll hit the scene, make a good show of things, and then get back here to process the body with the coroner. Who’s on duty tonight?”

Catherine felt almost like she was talking to a different woman tonight. Sara seemed so composed and self-assured, that Catherine was wondering what had been going on in her head to invoke this new self. “Well, David is en route with the body right now and Stephanie is down in the morgue. Think we should call Doc Robbins in on this one?”

“Are you kidding? No way.” That answer surprised both Grissom and Catherine, “No offense to Doc Robbins, but Stephanie has a much better track record with Rape/Homicide.” The two senior members of the team looked at each other with puzzled expressions, and Sara sensed their confusion so she elaborated, “While she was with LA County, there was an eighty five percent closure rate on the Rape/Homicide cases in which she was the coroner of record.” When their gazes still showed traces of incredulity, she further explained, “I looked her up when she first got here… If you ever get a chance, there’s some pretty impressive data coming out of the LA County online databases.”

Catherine was the first to break the spell of the new Sara, “Well, all right… Stephanie it is.” Catherine turned and walked out of the Break Room.

“And when you get down there, tell her we’re expecting her triple a game on this one.” Sara called after Catherine as she was already in the hallway. Sara then turned to Grissom, ready to move into action, “Your car or mine?”

Grissom suddenly realized that Sara was talking to him and forced himself out of his own mind as quickly as he could, “What? Oh, um, I’ll drive. That way you can get ready for the case.” As he had regained his footing, he felt compelled to add one more thing, “And your close up.”

Sara was taken aback by his offhand remark as they both made their way out into the hallway, “What’re you talking about, Gris?”

Grissom just shrugged and kept moving forward as he answered her, “High profile case is called high profile because of the press involvement… I’m sure the Sheriff will want to show off his crack crew to the cameras for this case.”

Sara stopped in her tracks because she had never considered that being chosen for this case meant that she would have to be on camera at any time. Grissom looked to his side and was surprised to not find Sara there. He stopped and turned back to find her standing there with an ashen expression upon her otherwise stunning face, “Sara?” He took the few steps back to where she was standing and took up position behind her. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he gave her a gentle push forward, “Come on, Tallulah… Your public awaits.”

Chapter 34

Their ride to the crime scene had been uneventful, even if it had been filled with stress and apprehension for his passenger. Grissom watched as Sara straightened her hair and applied a small amount of makeup. He was mesmerized by the process of human female preening. He understood all the inner workings of the process in the entire insect kingdom, but the mysteries of his own species eluded him. Of course, the fact that he had never been privy to it in his lifetime may have had some influence on his ignorance. His mother had always “freshened up” away from prying eyes in her bathroom. Grissom had never been in any other relationship long enough or serious enough to ever offer him that glimpse into the female realm.

It also struck him as odd, that in all of his relationships, the women would have been considered “high maintenance” by most standards, but in his friendships (which he considered to have been far closer in nature than any romantic interest he had ever held) all of the women possessed a natural beauty without all the trappings of supposed femininity. As he watched Sara apply the modest amount of makeup, he realized that it did not change her beauty, but only made it more obvious to the untrained eye. But my eye is well trained to her beauty.

That last thought caused Grissom to have to look away from observing her beside him. He was still trying to work out in his head just how he was going to approach Sara with the resolutions he had finally come to after all this time. But he was certain that if he did nothing, all would be lost, so he was stuck between a rock and hard place.

Stephanie and her mother had invited him to a party Friday night to celebrate her impending nuptials. Grissom thought that perhaps he could invite Sara to join him for the party, but then he remembered about their altercation in the morgue and continued to search his arsenal for an appropriate and neutral territory to enter into with her for this revelation of his.

Unable to contain himself, Grissom glanced back over in her direction, but she was now entranced in the case file. Leave it to Sara to find comfort in the case file.

Before long, they were pulling out in front of the Palms, and Grissom was forced to retreat into his work persona once more. They were soon caught up in the swirl of attention this incident had created in the media. And Grissom marveled at Sara’s grace under pressure as the Sheriff pulled her into an impromptu press conference, with Sara standing by his side and Grissom just behind them both. From his vantage point he observed that she was calm, cool and collected during the entire ordeal, on the surface. Underneath, he imagined that she felt like a rabbit at a greyhound farm, but he had to give her credit for not letting the Sheriff (or the press) witness that aspect of her personality.

When they walked away from the chaos out in front of the casino, across the lobby and into the elevators, he marveled as she retained her composure throughout the entire mess. It was not until the doors to the elevator had closed that he got even the slightest indication that she was not an old pro at press conferences. When he looked back at her, she had slumped against the rail of the elevator and was holding her forehead in her hand as her breath became a little ragged with the expulsion of the stress with each successive breath. But it was all gone in an instant when she felt the elevator come to a slow stop, as she took in a deep breath and her tough as nails exterior was snapped right back into place.

As the doors opened up, they found Jim Brass waiting at the doors for them, “Nice of you to join us.” The smirk on his face told them that he was only joking, “So, as I’m sure you’ve heard, this is a high profile case.” His words were practically dripping with sarcasm, and Grissom had to suppress the smirk that was forming at the corner of his mouth.

“The twenty cameras shoved in my face were a pretty good indicator.” That was Sara, always quick with the sarcasm to throw back at Brass. “So, what kind of mess are we looking at, Brass?”

“Of the first order, of course.” He winked at Sara and she smiled through one corner of her mouth, “Look, the only suspect we have so far works security here at the Palms, so I’m sure you know what we’re dealin’ with here. A whole lot of nothin’”

Sara exhaled sharply, “Well, what do we know about the vic… A Shondra Levinsky?”

Brass pulled out his notebook and rattled off the details found there, “Niece of one Ira Levinsky, gambling commissioner. Grad student at UNLV, studying sociology. Very bright, but has a penchant for the bad boys. Enter Miles Waggoner, security here at the Palms. Past history of trouble with the law, but all of it looks like youthful offender type stuff.”

Sara interrupted, “Boys will be boys?”

“Possibly, but the guy has some serious connections himself, because it looks like most of the juvenile record is under a protective seal. I’ll see what I can do to break that one.” Brass looked from Sara to Grissom with a questioning look, and Grissom instantly knew what he was about to say, “So, did the bugs finally eat his tongue, or is there some other reason you’re asking all the questions?”

Grissom smirked a little before answering, “Don’t look at me… I’m just here for the dog and pony show, under orders. Sara is your ace tonight.”

Brass seemed satisfied with that answer and he continued their briefing, “I’ve got the suspect on his way to interrogation, under double guard. And they are under strict orders not to let him do so much as breathe in the wrong direction. I also ordered them to pull a UA from the guy. I figured you guys would want to beat him to the punch on a diminished capacity defense.”

“Your time in CSI must have paid off, Brass.” Sara winked at him as they walked up to the door of the suite where the crime took place. “So, is there anything else I need to know before going in here?”

“Just that it probably won’t take you long to process… The place is oddly clean for a dead girl to have been found there.” Brass shrugged it off as best he could.

Grissom just had to add his own little twist to the conversation, “Gives new meaning to the slogan, ‘What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.’” Sara chuckled and shook her head. Only Grissom could get away with such a corny line and still make her laugh.

Chapter 36

She was still fuming at Grissom for tearing her away from the press conference, but Sara did have to admit that they needed to get back to the lab to get a good look at the body before the autopsy started. However, she was not ready to let him know that she had forgiven him, just yet. She wanted him to stew in frustration for a while longer. Lord knows he’s done it to me often enough.

Sara continued looking out the window of the SUV, trying hard not to look into his pleading eyes. She had realized after her conversation with Stephanie the night before that she needed to finally put all of this animosity to bed and move on with her life. And her life was in Las Vegas, with her friends and the people who had become her family.

Her family; what a strange concept that was for Sara. Nick and Warrick were definitely her brothers, though she was not sure if they were her twins or older brothers, since they seemed to switch positions depending on the situation. Greg was, without a doubt, her bratty little brother. For her, Brass was more than a big brother, but slightly less than a father figure, so she decided he was the kindly uncle that dispensed jokes, wisdom and kept a shoulder handy in case you needed it. And although her relationship with Catherine had been tenuous at best in their past, she still felt a connection with her that was not quite friendship, but certainly bordered on that bossy big sister kind of vibe. That left her with the biggest piece of the dysfunctional family puzzle; where does Grissom fit into the family?

Sara knew, without a moment’s hesitation, that Grissom belonged in her life, she just did not know where anymore. He had been her teacher and mentor, and he had been her friend. But that was where the clarity ended for Sara. She had always hoped, for a very long time, that they would become more than friends. It was apparent to Sara that it was no longer possible to keep that hope alive. So, why am I having so much trouble letting it go?

Sara did not have any more time to find an answer for that question, because the SUV came to a stop in the parking lot at the lab, signaling that it was time to get back to business. When she sensed no movement from the driver’s seat, she hazarded a glance over that way and found Grissom gripping the steering wheel tightly and hanging his head down. She opened her mouth to say something, but for a change, he beat her to it, “Sara, I’m sorry I overstepped my bounds. I have no excuse, but I am sorry.”

It took a moment for her to register that her mouth was still open after hearing those pained words coming from such a proud man. She could instantly tell that he truly was sorry for having taken charge at the end of her press conference, and Sara suspected she knew the real reason behind it; Grissom hated not being in control. She had long believed that his greatest fear was a total loss of control, and tonight he had been given a small glimpse of it, and it probably had him a little freaked out. For something like that, Sara would always forgive him his fault. “It’s okay…” Grissom turned with a deeply grateful expression on his face and Sara found that she too was losing control. “But you owe me.” Sara tried to stop those last words from coming out, as well as the crooked smile that was playing on her face at that moment. She did not know what it was in her nature that forced her to flirt with the man like that, but she never seemed to be able to control it.

The corners of Grissom’s mouth turned up and his eyes twinkled with delight, “Thanks, and I’m sure you’ll find some way to collect.”

Sara quickly got out of the car and tried to hide her surprise at what she believed may have been a suggestive remark from Grissom. How the hell is that possible? Are you losing your grip, Sidle? Grissom could not possibly be flirting with her. Not now. She fought the notion, deciding instead that the two had simply returned to a happier time, when they could both be comfortable with each other without the veil of tension that they had been living with for some time now. Grissom would not be the kind of person that would ever cheat, she knew that down in her heart, so Sara chalked the whole thing up to wishful thinking on her part. Chalk… Damn my mind!

She walked the rest of the way into the lab without saying a word, hoping to make all of the other thoughts vanish in her mind. When they got inside, Grissom spoke to break her away from her shields once more, “How about I get all this ‘evidence’ logged, so you can get down to Autopsy?”

Sara responded with great speed, hoping it did not make her sound too nervous, “Yeah, that would be great. See you down there.” Down there… With her. Sara instantly chided herself for thinking such a thing. Stephanie was not the bad guy in this thing, and Sara actually liked the young doctor. She kept reminding herself that this was the first day of her new life and it was time to stop dwelling on that old one. She was going to put it all behind her if it was the last thing she did. And as she pushed through the doors of Autopsy to find Stephanie and Catherine chattering about something, she realized it just might be the last thing.

“Hey, Ladies.” Sara called out to them so that they knew she had entered the room.

“Oh, hi Sara… We’re just waiting for David to finish prepping the body right now.” Stephanie waved her over to join them.

She sat down on the stool that Catherine had slid over for her and found the two women with cryptic smiles on their faces. “Okay, so what’s the joke?”

Catherine gave her a sideways glance and said, “No joke, I was just giving Steph the lowdown on some of the goings on around here.”

“That could be dangerous.” There were never truer words spoken, and Sara was wary of just where this discussion was going.

Stephanie’s face told Sara that she was about let the genie out the bottle, “So, did you really have to take a shower with Greg?”

The air actually left Sara’s lungs with the question. “Wha-What?”

“Yeah, so it was a DeCon shower, but still… Did you, ya know, see anything?” The two conspirators burst out laughing that time.

“Oh man… I’ve had nightmares about discussions like these.” Sara covered her face and shook her head trying to hide the blush that was burning on her cheeks.

“Oh, c’mon, Sara… You gotta spill.” Catherine once again reminded Sara that she truly was a feline creature with the expression on her face at that moment.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this, but yes.” The two women howled in delight, and Sara had to admit it was an entertaining way to pass the time.

“As the only eye witness to the crime, can you confirm or deny the rumors?” Sara could swear that Catherine was the younger of the three women with the way she was goading on the base nature of the conversation.

Sara tucked her chin down, and looked at the women through the top of her eyes with a slight grimace on her face before answering, “Neither… It was exaggerated, but not that much.” The howls increased and were only silenced by the arrival of David into the room when they immediately shushed themselves and pretended to be doing nothing.

David wheeled the body in and was about to transfer it to the exam table when he spoke, “According my fiancé, his last girlfriend claimed that no matter the size, he wasn’t very good with it.” And the howling resumed with great vigor and found David blushing wildly.

“Nice one, David!” Stephanie got up and slapped him on the back for a gesture of congratulations, “We’ll make a proper smart ass out of you yet.”

“If you only you heard the things I keep to myself.” With that Stephanie was laughing again.

“Don’t worry… Between me and Sandy, we’ll get you whipped into shape soon enough.” Stephanie looked at the condition of the body before she returned her attention to David, “Hey, what about those new drain trap filters?”

“Oh, I almost forgot.” He handed an evidence jar of unknown material to Sara, wrapped the lip with red evidence tape and signed it with the date. “Here’s the rest of your trace.” He turned back to the doctor, “I love those new filters. I didn’t have to handle the stuff at all, just popped it out and put it in the jar. Where on earth did you find those?”

Stephanie chuckled, “Found? No. Sold? Yes… You should be able to get those from our regular supplier sometime in the next six months.” She was going through her instruments then, as though she was not saying anything monumental, “Just make sure you don’t dump the O-Rings, and let me know when you start to run short before they offer them from Baxter.” She was already engrossed in preparing for her autopsy, and did not notice the stunned faces of those around her.

Catherine decided that she could not let the question go unasked, “Wait, so you MADE those filters and sold the design?”

Stephanie finally looked up from her task, “What? Oh, no, I just sold the Pacific and Mountain Region production rights to Baxter Medical Supply. I still hold the patent.” She turned back to her preparations and started gloving up for the exam, leaving the others to stand with their mouths agape.

That was what Grissom found as he entered the room, “Leaving them speechless once again?”

Stephanie popped her head up and looked through her safety glasses, “What?” She looked around at the others in the room and discovered what he was referring to and laughed, “Well, yeah I guess… What did I say?”

Catherine shook her head, hoping it would clear the fog, “Gil, did you know Stephanie has a patent on some filters for the prep table?”

Grissom reached over and grabbed three gowns for himself and the other two women, handing one to each of them as he responded in a nonchalant tone, “Of course, who do you think recommended a good patent attorney?” He turned his attention over to Stephanie, who had continued her work unimpeded by the incredulity of the others in the room, “Did you ever get the production rights sorted out?”

Without moving her focus away from the body before her, Stephanie responded in a monotone, “Yeah, but Tony is still working on the Atlantic and Midwest Regions, and he said something about some trade law complications with the Canadian manufacturer and the American ones, so I’m still waiting to hear back on those. But I just let Tony deal with that headache. Since he only works for a percentage, I know he’s gonna do the right thing.”

Grissom nodded, “That’s why I recommended him. Those other guys with their retainers and fees are only interested in themselves. A good patent attorney is your salvation, especially when it isn’t your primary focus. What’s that discoloration around mouth?”

His last comment broke the trance that both Catherine and Sara had been in, and they quickly strapped on their gowns and leaned in to get a better view. “I was just going to comment on that, but let me check-.” She reached in and turned up the lips to see the underside, “Yep, bruising. Looks like she may have bit down on her lips, or had it done to her.”

Sara gave her a puzzled expression, “I don’t get it?”

“Oh come on, Sara… You’ve never had someone get hold of your lip in a, um, passionate moment?” Sara blushed and looked away momentarily, “Anyway, some people get off on the whole biting thing. I saw a lot of weird stuff at the LA County Coroners, but mostly because my branch was in the same jurisdiction as these two ‘houses.’ So, we ended up having to do a lot of bite impressions for the PD.”

Catherine’s interest was piqued, “’Houses?’”

“Yeah, you know, they’re mostly these warehouse buildings where people run fetish clubs. I hear it’s a fairly lucrative business. Low overhead, contract workers at most, and the owner/operator takes at least fifty percent off the top for their fee.” Stephanie looked around the room and found a mass of faces in different states of being: Sara was shocked, Catherine was amused, David was intrigued and Gil actually looked embarrassed. The last one really confused Stephanie, because she had always considered her uncle to be one of the most open minded men she knew. There’s gotta be a story to that one. I wonder who I should ask about it? “Anyway… From the preliminary, I’d say this young woman was having one heck of a night.”

That phrase snapped Sara out of her stupor, “What? Like a date?”

“That would have been one hell of a date, if you ask me… No, what I’m saying is that she showed all the signs of a serious night of passion. We found what appeared to be massage oil on her skin, lubricant in the lower orifices, and I believe trace will find that the substance we discovered between her toes was saliva.”

Sara was confused, “Then, what was the COD?”

“Well, we did discover some blood inside the mouth. Catherine took swabs of all the usual suspects, and that was when we noticed the blood inside her mouth. First glance looked like her tongue was bitten.” Stephanie moved for the head and started the process of opening the mouth. “Oh yeah, and I almost forgot, although we found no semen, we’re pretty sure there was evidence of a condom, and so I have initially ruled out foreign object penetration. And also on the prelim I’m going out on a limb and say this was consensual.”

Grissom was a little shocked at that one, “Are you sure? I mean, that just seems odd considering the girl is dead.”

“I don’t know what to tell you about that part, but the clock tells it all on the sex part. It was all textbook lunch hour variety sex.” Stephanie opened the mouth fully and then turned around to pick up an instrument with which to retrieve the tongue.

“Lunch Hour?” Catherine was confused by the phrase.

Sara responded, “She’s referring to the vaginal clock, Cath.”

“OH! Sorry, just not used to that verbage.” Catherine felt a little silly by her question, but was quickly relieved when David responded.

“You should have seen me the first time she asked me to ‘douche the DB.’” They all had a quick laugh over the comment and David’s attempt at humor.

“Hey… I’m young, and it’s not my fault you people are stuck in the mud.”

Grissom interjected, “I resemble that remark.”

“Only when you want to.” Stephanie winked at him, and Sara felt the bile rising in her stomach. And this time, it had nothing to do with the dead body on the table before them. “Okay,” The coroner quickly changed the timber of her voice, “This is interesting.”

They all leaned in to get a better view. “What is that?” Catherine had her nose crinkled up as she looked at the protruding and disfigured tongue of the body on the table.

“Well, I’ll tell you one thing it’s not… It’s no love bite. This tongue has been multilated.” She looked over at David, “David, call up to Wendi and make sure she rushes that tox, please.?”

David nodded his head and moved straight for the phone. “Hello, Wendi?... Yeah, it’s David down in the morgue… Fine, thank you… Dr. MacInnerney wanted me to ask you to expedite that tox report for the Levinsky case… Okay… Thank you, Wendi… Goodbye.” David hung up the phone and turned back to the people at the table, “She says she’s working on it right now, and there was no semen, but positive for lubricant and spermicide, and a second vaginal contribution.”

His last comment got everyone in the room to look up and straight at him, but Sara was the first one to speak, “WHAT?!”

David’s face immediately lost all color and he stammered out the words again, “Positive for lu-.”

“The last part, David.” Sara sounded almost angry.

“There was a second vaginal contribution?”

Sara ripped off her gown and gloves and took out her phone, “I better let Brass know… He’s got another suspect to track down.”

Chapter 37

“Look asshole, I don’t care what you think you’ve got on me, I didn’t do anything!” The suspect was becoming extremely agitated under the barrage of questions coming at him from Jim Brass. Grissom was in the Interrogation Room, but he was merely sitting in the back with his arms folded over his chest with a smug look of condescension on his face. Catherine hated to admit it, but there was no one in all of LVPD better than Jim and Gil at turning a case in the Interrogation Room. In all other avenues of human interaction Gil Grissom was a veritable kindergartner, but in that room he was golden. She wondered if he had learned that skill from his years working with Stephanie’s father in San Francisco. She just had trouble picturing Gil as a pimply faced, graduate student rookie working with the hardened, experienced and straight laced inspector she had heard so much about. She had long suspected that the man was a creation in Gil’s mind, but after meeting Stephanie and her mother, and hearing the same stories told from their perspectives, she decided the man was the thing of legends and the person upon which the stereotype was derived.

Catherine returned her attention to the scene unfolding on the other side of the two-way glass. She could sense that Gil was about to pounce when she heard a knock on the door. Gil stood up and went to the door, while Brass continued to question their suspect, Miles Waggoner. “Look, kid… I don’t know who you think you’re helpin’ but it ain’t you. We’re gonna find out who else was in that room, with or without your help, and I think it would be in your best i-.”

“I’m not tellin’ you again, there was nobody else in that room. And when I left, Shondra was sleepin’. Not dead, just sleepin’. Got it, asshole?” The man was obviously lying, and if Catherine had been in that room she would have told him as much, but she also knew that was why she was not in that room.

She noticed that Gil had just finished talking to whoever had come to the door and was returning to his chair with a new folder in his hands. He was busying himself by flipping through the pages and drawing the suspect’s attention to himself as he did it. She could sense the growing apprehension in the suspect as his eyes darted back and forth from Brass to Gil. The tension was starting to get to her as well, and when the door to the Observation Room opened up, she nearly jumped out of her skin. Sara came walking into the room with an identical folder in her hands and was examining the contents when she almost bumped into Catherine, “Hey, watch it,” she whispered to Sara.

Sara’s gaze moved up, “Sorry, I thought you were farther away.” However, Sara never took her gaze from the pages of that folder.

“Okay, I can’t stand it anymore… What’s in the damn folder?” Catherine’s impatience got the better of her.

“Oh nothing.” Sara closed up the folder and the look on her face was that of pure satisfaction, “Just the whole damn case.”

That was too much for Catherine and she ripped the folder out of Sara’s grasp and started going through the pages. She found the toxicology report first, “Wait, phenabarbitol? Who takes that?” Her fingers traced further down the list, “And Xtasy? What, were they crazy? You can’t take those together. It would send you straight into-.” That was when it dawned on her, and she gritted her teeth in order to keep her voice down as she spoke through her clenched jaw, “She was a goddamn epileptic?!”

Sara smiled that mysterious smile of hers and spoke, “Steph was running on a hunch and managed to track down her primary physician. Ever since a head injury last year, she’s had seizures. Doctors just got them under control last month, with the phenabarb. The girl had gone back to her life as it was before the accident. Check the last page.”

Catherine quickly skipped through to the last page, which was an arrest report for two years prior, and it showed that the young woman had been picked up for buying Xtasy, but that her connections got her off, and the only thing letting them know what had happened was the log book of the arresting officer. “I’ll be-.” Before she could finish that thought, Sara had held up a hand, signaling Catherine to be quiet. When she looked up, she saw that Grissom had gotten up from his seat and was walking around the room flipping through the folder.

“I love it when he gets going like that. You can just smell the confession, can’t you?” Catherine remarked to herself that Sara looked extremely pleased in that moment; almost proud. Grissom was doing what Grissom did best, and no one appreciated that more than Sara.

The suspect was following Grissom with his eyes as he listened to Brass drone on, but he did not hear a word. He was obviously worried about what Grissom had in that folder he was flipping through as he walked around the room. Grissom finally broke his silence, “So, did you know Shondra before the accident?”

“I already told you guys, she was just some broad I picked up in the casino. Nothing more.” The suspect was wringing his hands as he spoke, and Catherine instantly knew that he was lying.

“Hmmm.” Grissom pursed his lips when he made the noise and the suspect was still following his every movement. “Are you sure it wasn’t the other way around, Mr. Waggoner?”

“What?! What are you talking about?” The man was getting more nervous by the moment.

“Oh nothing… So, let me ask you about the suite; is it common place for your employer to al-.”

“I’ve had it!” The man’s cool had completely dissolved, “Are you gonna tell me what’s in that fuckin’ folder, or keep asking me the same goddamn questions all night? I been cooperative, and I still ain’t called my freakin’ lawyer to show you I’m bein’ a right guy. So quit the games, huh?” The man was quite animated, but Grissom was still completely cool and detached.

“In good time, I just have a few more questions before we get to the new evidence.” That answer was just a little to cryptic, even for Grissom, and Catherine immediately went back to the folder. When she looked over at Sara, she had that smile on her face again. Dammit, I hate being behind the curve. She quickly searched through the pages when she found a photo which looked like it had come from a video camera. She stared at the page for a few moments, instantly recognizing the victim and the suspect, locked in a passionate display, but there was another woman in the picture who seemed to be enjoying the view from the other side of the booth they were sitting in down in one of the bars at the Palms. She stared at the other young woman in the picture for a long time, because the face was vaguely familiar so Catherine was trying to put a name to the face.

Sara kept looking in the Interrogation Room and not even glancing away from the scene in there, but Catherine was determined to bring that name to the surface. “Try to remember the retirement/promotion party where Gris was supposed to give that speech for Ecklie.” As Sara spoke the words, Catherine replayed that horrible night over in her head and that was when the image finally had a name.

“O’Reilly is gonna lose it!” Catherine could not believe that O’Reilly’s daughter was involved in something like this, but at the same time she knew very little about the girl. Although, she supposed she should revise that “girl” statement judging from the picture.

“That’s why I already sent Sofia and Vartann over to his house to break it to him and let him bring her in.”

Catherine could not believe Sara had done that, on her own, without consulting anyone. Catherine was really beginning to like this new Sara. “You think that was wise?”

“The old guy deserves that much. I mean, it’s not like his daughter knew what would happen if her friend took that stuff. Just some stupid kids out for kicks.” Sara’s eyes never left the glass, and Catherine looked inside to see what had transpired while she was wrapped up in the case file. She found the suspect with his head on the table, the picture of the three of them sitting face up on the table and Brass was shaking his head. Grissom had obviously broken the man, and when she glanced at her watch, in record time.

Catherine had regained her calm and decided to use it for some fun. “Kids? You better watch it; you’re starting to sound like me.” Neither woman took their eyes off the glass.

“Is that supposed to scare me?” Sara did not move an inch.

“It would have scared the hell out of me if the tables had been reversed.” Catherine was determined not to be the first person to look away.

Sara was relishing in the fact that the case was about to be closed, and as she watched Grissom and Brass working the suspect to squeeze every last piece of information out of the man, she simply could not help herself, “Damn, that man’s good.”

It was not until Catherine spoke that Sara realized she had spoken those words out loud, “You have no idea.” And Sara was the first to look away from the glass. Catherine smiled, enjoying her little victory over the younger woman.

Chapter 39

Grissom was doing his absolute fastest work possible in order to finish his paperwork for the week. He had spent the last two shifts working side by side with Sara on the Rape/Homicide case, and had neglected a few things that desperately needed to be finished before he could leave for the weekend. However, he did not regret the work that had kept him from his other duties. It had been surprisingly enjoyable to watch someone else lead through a case, and it was made even more pleasant by the fact that Grissom was watching Sara come into her own on the case.

It had been an exciting and frustrating experience for him. Exciting in that he was working with Sara and enjoying her company again in a way he had been too afraid to do in a very long time. He had almost forgotten what a great team they had once made. They had found that comfort level again, and then Grissom had to go and mess it up by showing his green-eyed monster. After his epiphany regarding his relationship with Sara, he concluded that perhaps the educator Paul Eldridge was right when he said, “Jealousy would be far less torturous if we understood that love is a passion entirely unrelated to our merits.” Grissom may not have ever felt truly worthy of her affections, but he had no choice but to admit that his jealous bone ached whenever he even contemplated her with someone else. He had finally reached the end of the rope that tied his fears to him, and he knew without a doubt that the time had come for him to go or get off the pot. Sara deserves at least that much.

He was just getting to the last bit of paperwork he had left and was wondering why he had started the next evaluation stage for Greg, because it was taking his precious time away. His time to go and talk to Sara, to try and find some way to tell her everything that had been going through his head over the last few weeks, to tell her that he finally knew “what to do about this.” He looked up just in time to see Sara approaching his door. He was just about to call her name when Nick came running up beside her and put an arm across her shoulders. Grissom listened intently to their exchange. It made him feel like a stalker, but he could not help himself.

“Hey Sar, whatcha got goin’ on this weekend? Curlin’ up on the couch, eatin’ veggies and readin’ forensic journals all weekend?” Nick was obviously trying to get a rise out Sara.

Sara repayed him with a quick elbow in the ribs which caused him to groan before she responded his jibe, “For your information, I have a date tonight, Mr. Smart Guy.”

Grissom did not hear anymore of the conversation, or notice that both of his CSI’s waved at him on their way past his door. There was only one thing occupying his mind at that moment; Timing really is everything.

When Catherine hung her head in the door to his office, he did not even notice. She had to holler his name a couple of times before he was finally ripped out of his shattered stupor. “Huh?”

“You need to get that checked again. I’m worried about you.” Catherine came into the office and sat down opposite of him. When he gave her a puzzled expression she realized that it was just Grissom being Grissom and lost in his head again, “Nevermind… Look, I’m on strict orders to make sure you don’t back out of the party tonight. So, I’ll meet you at your townhouse at five thirty, and we can ride over together.”

Grissom shook his head a moment to clear the fog, “Wait, what orders?”

“Steph and her mom are convinced that you’re gonna chicken out on the party tonight, so they enlisted me to get you there.” Catherine just shrugged before continuing, “Anyway, I want to get there early to help Steph and Beth get things ready, and I bet Thomas could use your help with the table,” Catherine was on a roll and Grissom struggled to keep up with her machine gun speech. “So I’ll meet you at five thirty, and we’ll ride over together, okay?”

Grissom slowly mulled over the information and then said, “Actually, I was going to walk over.” He gave her a sideways smirk.

“Ah, no. My days of walking five or six blocks in a pair of heels are long gone, Gil. Besides, what happens if one of us gets paged?” Catherine was sure to get her point across.

Grissom nodded his head, “Point taken. Is there anything else that is being required of me this evening?”

Catherine thought about it a moment and then shrugged, “Nope, not that I can think of. Just make sure you look good. If I have to show up to a dinner party on your arm, then I want it to make a statement.”

He bowed his head with another smirk on his face, “I’ll even wash behind my ears.”

Chapter 40

“Am I glad to see YOU!” Thomas greeted them at the door with great enthusiasm, and it caused Gil to flush slightly.

He recovered quickly and made room for Catherine to enter the townhouse, “Well, there’s a statement I’m not used to.”

Catherine shimmied past him carrying her punchbowl set, which she would not allow Gil to so much as touch, “It was bound to happen eventually… Hey, Thomas. Are they in the kitchen?”

He shook his head and held out his hands to try and relieve her of the burden, “Can I-.”

Catherine quickly pulled it away from his reach and Gil laughed, “Sorry, pal… She’s more protective of that bowl than she is her kid.”

“The bowl has been around a lot longer, and would be harder to replace.” They all had a good laugh and Catherine left the two men in the foyer.

They both watched her go into the kitchen before Gil had to speak to break the silence, “So, what can I do?”

Thomas smacked his forehead with his hand and turned a little red at having to be reminded what he was doing. Just as he was about to explain, a voice came calling out of the kitchen, “Hey honey, why don’t you get Uncle Gil to help you with that table? He has more experience putting together complicated puzzles than you.”

The younger man had to shrug an affirmation to Gil, and the men smiled at the humor of the situation, “Right… I only work with meat puzzles, dear.”

Stephanie suddenly appeared from the kitchen holding a large knife, “And if you don’t get the wood puzzle together, you’ll find out just how good I am at disassembling meat puzzles, Thomas Patrick.”

That time Thomas cringed, and nodded his head dutifully. When he turned to Gil to have him follow him into the dining area, the older man had a few words of advice for him, “You don’t want that demonstration… I’ve seen her work from the beginning, and even I would have trouble getting all the pieces back in the general vicinity.” They were both laughing as they entered the dining area to get started.

The directions were consulted, the parts were catalogued and a plan of attack was devised. The entire ordeal took exactly thirty minutes to complete. Which was the precise amount of time it took for the ladies to arrive at the conclusion that they needed to get the table set before the first guests were scheduled to arrive.

Stephanie inspected their work and declared the scene to be safe for the kitchen crew to get started. She walked over to Gil and placed a kiss upon his cheek, “Thanks for helping out, again.” He blushed at the gesture, and then looked down at his hands.

When he realized that he was in dire need of some tidying up he excused himself, “I really should get cleaned up before your guests think ill of my manners.” He headed off down the hall to the washroom by the back door.

Stephanie called after him, “Uncle Gil! Use the bathroom at the top of the stairs. Thomas has his valet thingy in there and you’ll be more comfortable in there anyway. Not so girly.”

He turned around and walked back to the kitchen, “Stephie, the washroom is fine.”

“No seriously, I have that one all set up for the party,” She was speaking very matter of fact, but Gil was sensing a trap. “And if you go upstairs you can take your time and not have to worry about being disturbed.”

“Stephanie Gayle, just what are you cooking up this time?” Gil shot her one of his patented exaggerated raised eyebrows with his question. Everyone else in the room stopped in their tracks and held their breath.

“Please… Like I could get away with anything with all these witnesses. Quit being paranoid and go make yourself pretty again.” Stephanie was cool and collected, not even stopping her work to respond to his accusation. “Your hair is all messed up and you’ve got something in your beard, I just figured it’d be easier for you to clean up in Thomas’ bathroom. He’s got all that man stuff up there.” She finally looked up at him and her face was a perfect stone.

“Man stuff?”

Thomas had to laugh at that one, “Sorry, she thinks that anything used to promote or manage what she considers superfluous hair is man stuff, simply because I think that anything used to remove excess hair in her bathroom is ‘woman stuff.’” Both of their explanations seemed plausible and Gil relented.

As he reached the top of the stairs, he was almost certain he heard someone say something to the effect that they thought they had been caught. There was something going on in this house tonight, and he figured he was just going to have to wait and see what it was, since it would appear as though they had gone to a great deal of trouble to arrange it for him.

Once inside the bathroom, Gil had to admit that this was a far better choice than the washroom for cleaning up. And, upon inspecting himself in the mirrors, he decided that he could use some serious sprucing up. After all, Catherine had been very specific about him looking good tonight. So, he removed his trousers and placed them in the steam press portion of the valet and hung his jacket on the back of the door. When he realized that he would need to wet his hair and washout the small bit of bolt grease which had gotten into his beard during the table operation he decided to also remove his dress shirt. After cleaning out the grease from his silver rich beard, he set about to fix his hair once again. However, when he raised his arms, he realized that his undershirt bore the fruits of his labors, as well as the smell. That was when the dilemma hit him, should he discard the shirt and hope for the best in regards to his dress shirt, or stick with it and pray the smell was not overpowering. The answer was given to him when he lowered his nose to inspect the situation more closely. Ditch the undershirt.

There he stood, in nothing but his skivvies, giving his underarms a quick cleaning to avoid any other odors escaping. He tossed the undershirt into the waste can and looked through the cabinets in search of some deodorant that he could borrow. When he found it at last, he was never so pleased to see a toiletry bag in his life. He guessed that Thomas kept his things in the bag because of the nature of his job. Gil was able to keep a small stash of items in his office, but he figured that the only space a surgery resident would have was a locker. The tattered nature of the bag also gave him an idea of something to get the young man for a gift.

Finally, he was clean, coiffed and presentable; except for the fact that he needed to get dressed again. He quickly pulled on his shirt, buttoning each button and replacing the cufflinks which he had managed not to drop in the sink, for a change. Next came the trousers which were now perfectly pressed again. He commented to himself that this young man of Stephanie’s at least understood the value of looking presentable. One of Gil’s greatest pet peeves was to see someone dressed in a rumpled suit. Was it really so hard to iron a pair of pants and shirt? Once he was certain his shirt and trousers were properly aligned, he reached for his tie. That was when his carefully laid plans had been dashed. It had taken him twenty minutes to get that knot just right, and in stuffing it into his jacket pocket, he had knocked it loose.

He nearly came out of his skin when a knock came to the door, “Uncle Gil? Are you decent?”

He heaved a huge sigh after his fright and answered, “I’m dressed, if that’s what you mean.” He opened the door to find her smiling, “But I’m afraid decent might be a stretch.”

Stephanie immediately noticed that his tie was messed up and she took it right off his neck. “Aw… Well, let me fix it for you.” She finished undoing the tie and then turned him around, marching him back in front of the bathroom mirror as she stood behind him. “This was always my favorite part of the day.”

“What was that, Steph?”

She threw the tie over his neck and flipped up his collar, “Fixing Pop’s tie in the morning. When I was maybe five, I would drag a stool into the bathroom to watch him getting ready for work every morning. We would talk about what I was reading, what you two were doing,” She brought the two sides of the tie together at his collar bone and began to tie the knot, “And I would just watch everything he did. I sat there while he shaved, brushed his teeth, combed his hair and put on his tie. I think I was six by the time I had become obsessed with knots. I had Mom show me the knot that Pop used for his tie, and she would make him sit still so I could practice. One night they both declared that I had it down perfectly.” Gil was enjoying the moment with just the two of them, and he enjoyed hearing about her father just as much. “So, after that, I tied his tie every morning. I would stand up on my stool behind his back and tie it for him it while he combed his hair. We would have races to see who would finish first, and I always let him win.” Gil looked into the mirror and saw that Stephanie’s face had taken on a wistful look to it. “It was my time with Pop. And I wanted it to last as long as I could. When I moved into the dorms my last year at Berkeley, Pop called me every morning so that we could talk as I walked to class every morning and he was getting ready in the bathroom. After a little while, he said that it just wasn’t the same for him.” She had finished tying the knot at that point, so she just held onto his shoulders, and Gil would not have had it any other way. “He said that he missed getting his neck hugs every morning.” A lone tear made its way down her cheek and Gil was certain his own were not far behind. “Mom said he wouldn’t take out his ties at night. Every one had been tied by me, and he was afraid of getting rid of my knots. Told her they were his lucky knots, because whenever he felt the tie gripping his neck, he would imagine that it was me, when I was six, hanging onto his back to tie it for him.” She moved one hand from his shoulder to wipe away the other tears that joined the first. Gil reached up with one of his hands and gave her a tissue from the counter, and with the other hand, he crossed his chest and held onto her remaining hand. “Can you believe that? My Pop was being a sentimental old fool.”

“When it came to you, I can believe anything of your father.” Gil was looking at the mirror, but he was looking into her eyes, and she was glad for it. “I think you were about six or seven, and you had started putting little notes in the lunches your mother always sent for me. Your father noticed me reading one of them one day, and he just laughed. I was, of course, embarrassed. He told me to treasure those notes, because one day you would grow up and find another man to pin your hopes and dreams to, and leave her two old fossils behind.” Stephanie giggled at his words, and it made his heart sing. “I told him that I couldn’t imagine you ever leaving him, because you were in his every thought and deed of every day that he was alive, and that because he and your mother were doing such a good job raising you, that you would feel the same thing.” He turned around and looked her in the eye before asking his question, “And was I right?” She nodded her head and that was when the tears fell for both of them and she fell into his embrace.

They stayed like that for a few moments, and only broke when Thomas appeared in the doorway, “Aw, man, did I miss it already?” Stephanie stood up straight and laughed at his question.

Gil was confused, but Stephanie reached out for Thomas’ hand and he gave it to her as he came to stand at her side, “Nope, we were just talking about old times.” He kissed her tenderly when he pulled her closer to him for support, and Gil was certain that she had made the right choice. “Uncle Gil, Thomas and I wanted to ask a huge favor of you. I know Pop is with us all the time, but for this I need a body. And I know that if there was anyone he would want to take his place for this, without a doubt, it would be you.” They looked at each other for reassurance once more before she turned to Gil and took his hand in hers as she looked pleadingly into his eyes, “Would you please walk me down the aisle at our wedding?”

He was not sure quite how it was possible, but he actually felt like the Grinch at the end of that Dr. Seuss Christmas tale, as his heart grew ten sizes inside his chest with the joy that he was experiencing at that moment. It was too late to try and regain some kind of male bravado, because the tears were streaming down his face as Gil took them both into his arms and embraced them for all he was worth. Right there, in the bathroom, his life changed forever, and he could not have been any happier. When they finally broke apart, Stephanie just had to ask, “Do I take that as a yes?”

Gil shook his head, still working up the brain power to form words, and when they came, it was pure gold, “No, you can take that as a Hell Yeah!” They all laughed, and his smile was so infectious that there was nothing holding any of them back from the pure joy of the situation.

That was how Catherine found them. “Okay, so obviously everyone is happy, but poor Beth and I have no idea who we just let into your house. So maybe we can move this little smile fest downstairs?”

Thomas was the first to separate, “I’ll head down… You two clean up that mess and join us as fast as you can.”

Stephanie quickly looked at her reflection in the mirror and found only a small tear trail that she easily wiped away, “Good thing I’m low maintenance… And that Mom made me wear the waterproof mascara tonight.”

“That Beth; always prepared.” They shared another laugh and Gil grabbed his jacket from behind the door, but before he could put it on, Stephanie turned and took it from him.

“Come on, you know it’s easier when someone holds it out for you when you got cufflinks on.” He nodded and turned to allow her to assist him. Once the jacket was on, she smoothed out the shoulders and turned him around to do the same to the lapels. “You always did strike a handsome pose in a suit, Uncle Gil.”

As she straightened his tie, he took one more look at her, “And you are striking no matter what you have on, Princess. But this sentimental old fool is looking forward to seeing you in that wedding dress next week.” He buttoned his jacket and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. When he turned and stepped out of the bathroom, he stopped in the hallways and held out his arm, “Shall we join the party?”

She could not believe how happy that little scene had made her, but she knew that she would soon be repaying her uncle in spades. Or at least, she hoped everything they had done worked out for him.

Chapter 41

Sara was beginning to think that this had probably been the worst idea she had had in a very long time. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and found that she barely recognized the woman she saw there, and washed her face clean for the third time. If she kept it up this way, she wouldn’t have any skin left on her face by the time Warrick got there. She applied a small amount of moisturizer and added a touch of blush over it, then just a dab of lip gloss, and finally she took out the mascara. She was not trying to impress anyone, but she also did not want to look like she did not belong. Sara took one last look in the mirror and decided that her face was now presentable and actually looked like herself as well.

She walked back into the bedroom and looked at her full reflection in the mirror out there. She had finally decided on a dress, and after completely emptying her closet onto her bed, she ended up choosing the first dress she had tried on that afternoon. It always works out that way. The dress looked almost black under the light in her room, but in the right light it shimmered a rich burgundy. She had fallen in love with two color silks a long time ago, but she had to admit this one was probably her favorite. The spaghetti straps highlighted the sleek lines of her neck and collar bones, and the low swoop in the back always made her feel like she could be just a little glamorous. The hem was flowing and cut just above her knees, and gave her a very free feeling when she wore it. However, she was having trouble remembering the last time she had worn it. Has it really been that long since I went out?

When the doorbell went off, she grabbed her chest and then looked at her watch. Damn! Despite her best efforts, she was running late, and Warrick had already arrived. She glanced once more at her self as she reached down to retrieve her shoes. “Guess the hair will have to do. Hopefully I can get these on in the car.”

She was holding her hand bag and a shawl in one hand, and her strapped heels in the other when she opened the door onto a pleasantly surprised Warrick. “Damn, girl! You clean up good.”

Sara instantly blushed at his comment, “If I wasn’t such a wreck, I might appreciate that.”

Warrick looked her up one side and down the other, “If that’s a wreck, I’d be afraid to see what you look like when you’re on… My marriage might be in more trouble.” He winked at her with his comment.

Sara gave him a playful slap on the arm, “Quit teasing. How much time do we have?”

Warrick looked at his watch before he answered, “We got time. Go put your shoes on, Miss Thing.”

Sara heaved a sigh and did just that. She was grateful for the moment to collect herself. “So, Warrick… Is this like a hospital party or something? I mean, am I going to be at some big fancy place and feel about so big?”

Warrick slapped away her comment in the air, “Nah, it’s at somebody’s townhouse. And it’s just a few people, so that’s why I couldn’t back at the last minute. Plus, Tina might come by later if she can find somebody to cover for her. Took her dress and all to work.” Warrick laughed at the memory of his wife toting all of that junk to work, as he was busy looking around Sara’s apartment. “So, you cleanin’ out your closets, or what?” He asked when he spied the massive pile of clothes through the open bedroom door.

“A gentleman wouldn’t have noticed.” She stuck her tongue out at him.

“I don’t think ladies do that either.” He moved away from the door and took a seat in the chair beside her.

“Well, I never said I was a lady. Of course, I also don’t really fall into the broad category either, that sounds more like-.”

“Catherine.” They both laughed at themselves having the same thought.

“Oh well, at least she’s a good broad.” What Sara wanted to say was that there were some bad ones around the lab as well; Sofia. But Sara was trying to turn over a new leaf, and if Sofia wanted to make a fool of herself around Grissom, then she would just stand back and watch the fireworks when they happened. Sara knew Sofia was playing with fire in that respect, and despite her best efforts to cut the woman some slack, Sara just did not have any use for her.

Warrick watched as Sara fastened the last strap of her shoe and stood up to offer her a hand, “Ready now?” She took the hand and rose from the couch with a grace that Warrick could not remember noticing before. He held her back so that he could get one more look at her, “Lookin’ like that, we’re sure to find you some hot doctor action tonight.” Sara blushed again and gave him another playful tap before wrapping the shawl around her bare shoulders.

She tucked her hand bag under her arm and held up her chin, “All ready to go.”

They walked out to the car and proceeded to head out for their big night. As much as Sara hated to admit, she was already having fun. Warrick’s favor may have been just the thing she needed to break free from the bonds of her rut. And she figured the worse thing that might come of it would be another night out with a doctor from Desert Palms. They had to be an improvement over cheating paramedics.

Warrick was sure to keep her occupied with small talk the whole way over to the party. He figured that if he kept her talking she might never put the whole thing together before they got there. Because once they were at the party, there would be no turning back.

When they arrived, he was pleasantly surprised to find a parking spot fairly close to the house. He assumed that some of the people had carpooled over from the hospital which was fairly close to the place. He got out of the car and trotted over to her side of the car to help her out and found her opening the door. “Hey, you can’t get a guy to be a gentleman if you do it for him.” He winked at her with his comment.

“Sorry, I forgot. I guess the dress should have been my first clue.” She took the hand that he offered her and he helped to lift her out of the car. Her footing was a little wobbly at first, because her heels sunk into the ground, but they quickly moved to the concrete and all was well. As they neared the door, Sara took a deep and calming breath, and then released it slowly.

“They’re just like us, so there’s nothing to be nervous about, Sar.” He smiled in that smooth way of his and Sara felt much better when they reached the door and Warrick pressed the button for the bell.

When the door opened, a very tall and well built man with soft brown hair answered the door. The smile on his face was accentuated by the full goatee he wore and Sara instantly felt welcome, “’Rick! You made it! Come on in, bro.” The man gestured for them to come into the townhouse. “I see you found a replacement for Tina.” The man put a hand on Warrick’s shoulder in a gesture of friendship and comfort, “I was sorry to hear she couldn’t get out of her shift, but when she called this afternoon to tell me you were bringing a friend, you made my day, man. So, who do we have here?” The man turned to Sara and offered her his hand.

“Thomas, this is Sara Sidle, a friend from work. Sara, this-.”

Thomas interrupted him before he could finish his introduction, “THIS is the infamous Sara Sidle?” He looked incredulously at Warrick and then back at Sara. Instead of waiting for her to take his hand, he took hers in his and turned it up to kiss the back of it. “It is an honor… I have heard quite a few stories about you since I’ve been in Vegas. It’s nice to get a face to the name.” He looked between them both again, “And it is a lovely face, at that.” It was too much for Sara and she shied away from his praise as she felt her cheeks warm with her blush.

She was not sure what to say to the man, because although his words might have sounded like flirting, she could tell that they were not meant that way. “Thomas, is it? I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage.”

The man showed his apology on his face and then he spoke it, “I am so sorry…” He bowed his head slightly before he continued, “Dr. Thomas O’Halloran, trauma surgeon, co-worker to Tina, drinking buddy, and your host this evening. Welcome to my home!”

Warrick was laughing at the whole scene. With everything going on around them, Thomas was devoting his full attention to the woman he had been hearing talked about (and plotted against) for the last two weeks, as though there was nothing else going on. “And more full of blarney than any Irishman I’ve met before. Sara, don’t listen to a thing ole Tommyboy has to say. I think he took a few too many hits without his helmet on.” Warrick winked at her to let Sara know that he was joking around.

Thomas laughed a big hearty laugh, “Ha! Truer words may nar’ been spoken, mi’lad!” His fake Irish accent made Sara giggle just a bit. “Hey, can I get you guys some drinks? We’re still on the cocktail hour for a bit longer.”

Sara held up her hand to show she was not interested, “No thank you, I’m good.”

“Cool, but I know my man ‘Rick is looking for a beer, right?” Thomas pointed at Warrick in an almost comical gesture.

“You twisted my arm.” Thomas disappeared into the small gathering in front of what Sara assumed was the kitchen for only a moment and quickly returned with an armful of bottled beer.

“Beer for you… But only one.” He nudged Sara slightly, “You know this guy is a lightweight, right?” He winked at Sara before continuing on his path through the living room to deliver his load of beer around the room.

Once they were alone, Sara had to ask, “Hey, what stories are you and Tina telling about me?”

Warrick leaned back to laugh at her paranoia, “Don’t sweat it… Thomas just likes to talk smack.”

She breathed a little easier knowing that it was more of a joke than a reality, and so Sara started looking around the room. She saw a few familiar faces, but only because she spent a lot of time at the hospital on various cases. Before she had a chance to seriously examine her surroundings, someone at the other end of the living room was calling for everyone’s attention.

“All right you animals… SHUT UP!” The room became oddly quiet, considering the number of people milling around it. “Okay, now… My man Thomas has something to say, so listen up. It may be the last time he’s allowed to talk.” Everyone in the room laughed and Sara assumed it was some kind of joke known only to those in their circle. From the laughter coming out of Warrick, Sara figured he was part of that circle.

“Thank you… And I’ll be looking for a new best man after that comment, Carter.” Again the room erupted into laughter. “Okay seriously, I wanted to thank everyone for coming tonight. I know we did a fine job of blowing everyone away by pushing up the whole wedding thing, and I really appreciate all of you being such good sports about it. Most of all, my future mother-in-law…” He stopped to look around the room. “Tell those women to get out of the kitchen, I’m talking about ‘em.” The laughter started up again and Sara thought she saw a familiar strawberry blonde head bobbing out of the kitchen, but she figured her eyes must have been playing tricks on her.

When she saw two other heads come out of the kitchen, Thomas continued, “There they are! Anyway, I wanted to thank everyone for being so understanding about this whole wedding thing. We’ve been together for so long now, and we’re both so caught up in work and such that it just seemed silly to have some big fancy wedding that neither of us ever really wanted in the first place. We looked at our schedules and we realized that everyone we cared about was going to be in the same place at the same time, and we might as well take advantage of it.” There were several chuckles dispersed around the room as Sara continued to survey the faces she could see. There were still a few heads on the other side of the room that she could not see their faces, but she decided dinner would probably fix that. “So, if you’ll all raise your drinks. I’d like to make two toasts… The first one is to all of you. We are truly blessed to have you in our lives, and with your continued love and support, my beautiful bride and I will live long and relatively happy lives together. To our friends!”

Everyone raised their drinks and gave a traditional Irish toast, “Slainche!”

After everyone had taken their drink, Thomas started again, “And for my second toast… I want you all to know that I am fully aware of what a damn lucky bastard I am to have won the heart of the most amazing woman to ever walk this earth of ours. As many of you know, I have never had anything easy in life. I have worked my ass off for everything I ever got. I’m not a genius, but I study and work hard to keep a well oiled machine between my ears. There has been only one thing in my life that came easy, and that was my love for this woman…” He stood up on his toes a moment, “This woman who is now hiding behind her mother… Mom, would you push her out this way please?” Sara tried very hard to see what was going on over in the corner, but her vantage point would just not allow it.

“Here she comes.” The voice Sara heard was matured, so she assumed it was the mother. And then she watched as the small crowd on that side of the room parted for the arrival of the bride.

“Finally!” Sara was almost on her toes as she attempted to see the woman in question. When she finally bounded through the last of the people amassed near the kitchen her jaw hit the floor like a ton of bricks. Her brain went off in about ten thousand different directions trying to wrap itself around the bombshell identity of the woman now standing in the center of the room; locked hand in hand with the charming doctor Sara had just met.

“What, you think they’ll miss me?” The auburn haired beauty standing at the center of the room joked with her fiancé, “It’s like missing the giraffe in a sea of prairie dogs.” Everyone in the room laughed at her obvious joke, but Sara did not hear a sound. All she could hear were the words of every conversation she had had or heard over the last few weeks being replayed in her mind. She was getting dizzy with the volume of information that was flooding her senses at that moment. It took Warrick putting a friendly hand on her shoulder to steady her to wake her from her epiphany just in time to hear the rest of the speech.

“Well, I just wanted to make sure I told everyone… I love this woman more than I thought was humanly possible, and believe it or not, she was the easiest thing I’ve ever had in my life.”

The man who had quieted the crowd before interrupted, “Which just shows you how much his life sucked before she came along.” The room erupted into laughter.

“You can be replaced.” Thomas punched the man in the arm and then continued, “When I met Stephanie I knew, without a doubt that this was the most amazing woman I had ever met. And once I got to know her, I knew that there could never be anyone else for me. But it wasn’t until I passed inspection that I knew I wouldn’t lose her. Before I got to meet the family, she once told me that she could never be with someone that her family didn’t like. So, when I heard they were coming to L.A. for some conference, I thought for sure our relationship was doomed. I was just a lucky jock, who’d managed keep his brain pan from getting rattled too bad to make it into med school. She was this genius wunderkind, of these really smart and successful people. I was sunk.” He looked into Stephanie’s eyes and she actually appeared to melt a little, but she took his hand and held it to her heart to give him the courage to continue. “I made it through that whole visit without breathing. For three days. When they left, I thought for sure it had been a nightmare. They had barely talked to me, and Steph left to take them to the airport. When she got back I figured it would be over. Instead, she sat down with me on the balcony of my apartment and watched the sunset. In my addled brain I thought she was just looking for a good way to break it off, instead she put her head on my shoulder and sighed, and then she said ‘I’ve never seen Uncle Gil take to someone so fast… You must be the one.’”

Sara was instantly plunged into a vacuum, and all the air was torn right out of her lungs. She desperately tried to focus her eyes, but the lack of oxygen was making it impossible. She did the only thing she could, she kept listening. “I made up my mind right then and there, I was going to spend my life with this woman, and that’s exactly what I did. Asked her to marry me at Thanksgiving right there in front of her parents and the infamous Uncle Gil. To say I was nervous is probably the understatement of the century, but for this one,” Thomas held Stephanie closer to him, “I’d walk through the desert naked… And proposing within a hands’ breadth of her father and uncle was pretty much the same thing.”

Sara’s breathing had returned, but her mind was awash in the flood of memories that poured over her; of Grissom and Stephanie arriving in his car, of that phone call in the morgue, of the Chinese food in the Break Room. Every one a horrible misunderstanding by Sara and every one a cause for her steps further away from Grissom. When the sound of a familiar voice penetrated her mind, she lost all the air again, “Now, be honest… We weren’t that bad.” Grissom is here!

Thomas laughed and the crowd joined him. He then motioned for Gil to join them in the center of attention, “I’ll admit only that there was no bloodshed, but I still felt like you were both going to kill me at any second.”

“Don’t think the thought never crossed our minds.” The room erupted into hail of guffaws at Gil’s joke, but all Sara could do was stare at him like a deer caught in the headlights. As soon as it registered to her that he was there, and what everything meant, she started to panic. The only thought going through her mind at that moment was that she had to get out of there before Grissom saw her. She blinked her eyes and finally looked away from the trio in the center of the room. Sara looked to Warrick who was clapping his hands for Grissom’s joke, and so she saw her opportunity to escape unnoticed. She slipped back to the door and had her hand on the knob when she heard Grissom’s voice again, and she found herself paralyzed waiting for his words.

“Besides, this is a speech, not a toast.” He turned to take a glass from Catherine, who had made her way up from the back of the room, “I would like to make a toast.” Everyone raised their glasses and no one was paying attention to the trembling woman at the door. “For many years filled with happiness and love, may you share it all for the rest of your lives together with grace and compassion: to Thomas and Stephanie.” Everyone repeated their names and drank in their honor. Sara was finally released from her paralysis and bolted out the front door. She had no idea where she was going, but she had to get out of there before her head exploded with everything that was rushing in on her at that moment.

Chapter 42

After the toast everyone started to mill about again, which gave Grissom the chance to confirm what his eyes had told him; Sara is here! He craned his neck to glance over in that corner of the room again and when that proved unsuccessful he tried to make his way over there. He was stopped by Catherine, who looked as though she was trying to figure out what he was searching for, “Gil, what on earth are you looking for?”

He only half heard her, because his focus was on solving a mystery, “Huh?”

“What are you looking at? The only thing I see is Warrick talking to the guys over there.” Catherine was playing it cool, but Gil was too preoccupied to suspect the intention of her question.

He shook his head as he answered, “Well, maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me, but I could have sworn I saw Sara over there.”

Catherine played it off as nothing, “Oh yeah, Tina got stuck at work so Sara bailed Warrick out.” It was time for Catherine to go in for the kill, she turned to head towards the kitchen and shot back, “You see her everyday, Gil… What’s so special about tonight?” Catherine was not sure he had actually heard all that she had to say, because when she glanced back, he was already half way across the room and headed on a beeline for the door. She had a good laugh and went back to help Stephanie and Beth in the kitchen.

As Gil was about to make it to the door, he was stopped by Thomas, “Hey Gil, I wanted to introduce you, formally, to my best man.” Gil halted his progress and tried to focus on the introduction, but his mind was already outside. “Carter Wilbanks, this is Steph’s Uncle Gil. You might say Carter is the reason me and Steph got together.” The two men shared their private joke.

“Nice to meet you, Carter.” He searched his brain for an excuse to get away from the party, “I’m terribly sorry, but I’ve got a page and I need to respond. Do you mind?”

Thomas patted him on the shoulder, “Hey, don’t sweat it. We’re one pile-up away from having to clear the room… We understand the page thing.” All three men nodded their heads, and Gil took out his pager to make himself less conspicuous as he left through the front door.

“Kind of jumpy, ain’t he?” Carter asked his friend.

Thomas shook his head and laughed, “Nah, he’s just not used to crowds like this… He’s a pretty quiet guy. Basically, the polar opposite of Steph at a party.” The two men laughed, slapped each other’s backs and moved back into the party.

Once outside, Gil scanned the area trying to detect some movement. He could not imagine that she had pushed her way through the crowd to hide in the bathroom, so that left him with outside. The look he had seen on her face as he was making his toast frightened him. She looked so lost, and the only other times he had seen that look on her face had nearly killed him: after the lab explosion, and after she was attacked in the psychiatric hospital. Gil would not be able to live with himself if he did not reach out to her when she was in that state. I just wish I knew what it was about. Gil was also back tracking in his mind to the scene he witnessed outside his office that morning. She had told Nick she was going on a date, and Gil had jumped to the wrong conclusion. His doubts of self-worth had caused that lapse of sanity, and he decided right then and there that if it was the last thing he did, he would never let doubt steal away anything ever again. He needed to find Sara and finally tell her everything. He owed her that. I owe her a lot more than that.

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The moment Sara had breached the door, her tears had started to flow down her face. It was all too much for her to deal with. Grissom was her UNCLE! How fucking stupid could I be?! She was angry at herself for having punished him for her own stupidity; her own blindness. She never had the nerve to actually talk to the man about the new girl in the lab. Hell, I can barely talk to him about the weather without losing my grip! Sara replayed every exchange that had passed between them since Stephanie’s arrival, and she realized that every single time she had been hurt, she had hurt herself. Grissom had been nothing but open and caring with her through the whole stupid ordeal. She had brought it all on herself because she was too blinded by her own jealously to see the truth.

When she looked up, she realized that she was standing out in the open for anyone to witness her falling completely apart, so she started searching for a place to hide out until she could pull herself together. Right, like that could happen in this lifetime! She moved away from the front door and found a little niche next to the shrubs. She thought it was the perfect place. She could not see the front door, so she assumed she was safe and she began to weep openly.

“How could I have been so stupid?!” She finally spoke the words aloud, and her sobs masked the sounds of approaching footsteps. She reached into her handbag, hoping to find some tissues in there, but after several passes inside the bag, she slapped it down against her side, only to find a handkerchief waiting for her as she looked up. She froze instantly. Sara was paralyzed with fear. She could not bring herself to take the handkerchief and she was even more afraid to see who the owner was, but she could feel him standing just behind her. She could sense his presence there, like a warm blanket, but she knew that if she looked at him, she would never be able to hold it together.

It seemed like an eternity, but finally he spoke, “It’s clean.” He was close enough to her that she could feel his breath on her shoulder as he spoke and her mind reeled from the sensation.

Sara forced herself to speak, “Thank you.” She took the handkerchief, but did not turn to look at him, and she wiped the streams of tears from her face before handing it back.

He pursed his mouth and shrugged, “You can keep it… I have another.”

Sara thought to herself; Of course you do. Such a boy scout.

“Sara, are you okay?”

His words were still dancing across her shoulder and it made it even harder for her to focus enough to even breathe, let alone speak. She drew in a breath, and then another, and then she found the strength to speak, “It’s nothing.”

He tilted his head and moved around to get a better look at her, “Sara, you crying, is never ‘nothing.’”

She could not help herself, a laugh escaped her lungs. “Yeah… Maybe you’re right.” She would not look up. She could not look into those deep pools on his face. She was sure it would be her undoing.

She could tell he was trying to size up the situation, and when he spoke again, she knew that he was just being himself, “So, I was pretty surprised to see you in there. I heard you and Steph were having some kind of trouble.” He paused when she held her breath at his statement, “You want me to talk to her? I know she can be a little brash for some people, but she really does mean well.”

Sara shook her head and worked up the courage to speak again, “It’s nothing, really… Just a-.” Could she say it? “It was just a misunderstanding. We’ve already cleared the air.”

“That’s good…Can’t have my favorite people at each other’s throats.”

Sara could not help herself; she popped her head up and looked straight into his eyes when he said those words. Was her mind playing tricks on her? She immediately knew the answer when she saw the side of his mouth curl up into that adorable smirk of his. She was about to make a comment, but he beat her to the punch.

“Sara, I’m actually glad you came tonight… There’s um, well, there’s something that I’ve ah… Well, that I’ve been wanting to talk to you about?” His speech was stunted and Sara was growing more afraid with every word.

“Maybe this isn’t the best time.” There it was; there was the out. Sara gave him the perfect opportunity to back away and forget about this whole thing. Why do I always do that?! “I mean, there is a party going on in there.”

He looked up and towards the house, “Yeah, but that’s not about me.” There was a faraway look in his eyes that Sara was trying to pin down when she had seen it before. “I need to do this, before-…” That was when it suddenly dawned on her when she had seen that look before: the interrogation room with Lurie. “Before it’s too late.” Once again, all the air left Sara’s lungs. If this kept up, she was sure she was going to pass out before long.

His gaze suddenly dropped to his feet and he absently took a step towards her. She was hypnotized by the display and found herself being pulled towards him by some invisible magnetic energy. They were standing with barely an inch separating them. Their breaths were mixing in the same air space. Sara could not believe what was going through her mind or what her body was screaming for her to do. She was sure that she felt waves of similar energy washing off of him and the heat from his body was reaching out to her in that small space between them. She was about to lose complete control and there was nothing telling her it was wrong. When he drew in a slow, deep breath, she finally snapped. Time had slowed to a ridiculous crawl and it took an eternity for her handbag to plummet to the ground as she bridged that seemingly vast distance between them. Her left hand was the first to make the interminable journey of a single inch to rest on his shoulder. It caused him to raise his head in a slow motion scene that also found Sara’s body closing the distance to his body. When the bag finally hit the ground, her lips were just touching his, and that was when the entire world crashed down around them and time stood still in that moment.

Her mind exploded into a million pieces at once, and she was not sure what was holding her up at that point, because all conscious thought vanished in the instant that they finally met. She was desperately trying to regain her conscious mind, because she wanted to remember this moment for the rest of her life. She was not sure it would ever happen again and she never wanted to lose it.

When time finally found its foothold once more, all of Sara’s doubts were thrown to the wind. What she found in that instant was that her kiss was being returned with a passion she had only ever read about, and she fought for the air that would allow her to remain conscious and still able to continue their fevered embrace. Soon, it was Sara’s passion that took hold and she was suddenly aware that she had just knocked him backwards into wall behind them, but her mouth never broke from their embroiled and animalistic kissing. As her lungs burned in their need for oxygen she finally gasped for air, and she was dropped back into the torrent of their desire when he took the opportunity to touch his lips to her shapely neck. She fought to hold on to the sheer bliss that was surging through her veins in that deliciously sensual moment. As the air was rapidly flowing in and out of her lungs with each gasp, she realized that she was pressed against him tightly, but that she would not have been able to move, even if she had wanted to, because his strong arms were wrapped tightly around her back and shoulders. She could feel every one of his nimble fingers as they stroked her flesh, and she was not sure if she could ever separate from him again. She was completely lost in the waves of pure joy and pleasure that were crashing through her in that moment, and her desire became an overpowering force once more and she reached out for his face once more and claimed his mouth again and again in her lust to possess him completely.

They probably would have gone on like that forever, but then the lights from a passing car played across their bodies and the wall they were pressed up against. The sudden knowledge of their exposure out in the open caused them both to break their impassioned embrace. They were both gasping for air and chuckled at their current states.

With all the tension of six years of emotional and sexual frustration falling away from her, Sara was the first to speak, “You were saying?” When he let loose with a hearty laugh, she buried her face into his shoulder and giggled.

He held her close to him and rested his head against hers for a moment before speaking, “Well, obviously we can’t stay here.” His words blew across her ear and she was filled with the undeniable urge to kiss him again.

As her desire was threatening to take her control again, she finally pulled away. “No, we can’t. But I don’t know if we can leave either.” Her eyes met his and she could see her own yearning being reflected back at her. She knew in that moment that he was feeling the same things she was, and it melted her heart. Sara broke their gaze, for fear her resolve would melt alongside her heart, and looked toward the party. “I think we might be missed.”

He tilted his head forward and rested his forehead against her head, “Probably…” He paused, and Sara thought for sure he was going to retreat back into his own head again, “But that’s their problem.” For the umpteenth time that evening Sara found herself completely without air. She stood there, locked forehead to forehead with a man she was not entirely certain she knew as well as she thought she did. “Sara, I need to take care of this, and I’m-… Well, I’m af-… I mean, if I wait, then I’m afraid-…”

“Of what’ll happen?” Upon hearing her words he slumped against her, and rested his head on her shoulder. She knew without a doubt in her mind that he was experiencing all the same things that she was feeling; that they were both reaching a crossroads and nothing would ever be the same.

“Sara… Come with me?” She was not sure if that was a question, a command, a request or a plea. “Please?”

At that moment, she would have done anything he asked of her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head to her breast, stroking his hair as she spoke, “Just say the word… I can’t… I can’t resist anymore.”

He looked up into her eyes and said the words she never thought she would hear, “I’m not asking you to.”

Chapter 43

Stephanie was putting the last of the food onto the platters as Thomas rounded everyone up and moved them to the table. She was aided by Catherine and her mother and they were working wonderfully together. Stephanie could not recall a night when everything had gone off with so few hitches. She and Thomas had taken care of their talk with Gil with a minimum of tears. Father Wilhelm had managed to tear himself away from the rectory long enough to join them for dinner. Catherine had agreed to stand up for her alongside her mother with a maximum of tears (but that had been factored into the equation). But most of all, Warrick had successfully gotten Sara to join them for dinner. Stephanie was not sure what he had said to pull that off, but she was going to thank him no matter.

Following her conversations with Catherine and Warrick, Stephanie was certain that her suspicions regarding her uncle and Sara were dead on accurate. She had spent years listening to him regale her father with stories about the talented young woman, and when she finally had the opportunity to meet her, she was horribly disappointed with the way she had behaved. Helluva first impression, Poindexter, she thought to herself. Her father had worked with the woman on a few cases when she was with the San Francisco Police Department, and had confirmed to Gil that she was indeed first rate. Her mother had her own theories about Gil’s choices in companions, but Stephanie felt she knew her uncle better than anyone; possibly even better than he did. Even though their first meeting was less than ideal, she could tell right away that Sara Sidle was exactly what her uncle needed. She was smart, she did not back down from a fight and she was strong. Stephanie instantly felt that her strength was probably her best quality, along with her courage. She knew that those were two things Gil would need in a relationship more than most anything, because his fear would sap him of both things and his partner would need to have some to spare. Stephanie knew, without a doubt, that Sara was that person. The only thing left to do was to convince the two parties in question of that fact.

When Catherine came in for another armload, Stephanie motioned for her to come closer, “Hey, can you snag Uncle Gil for me? I need to talk to him a sec.”

“No can do, Thelma,” was Catherine’s only response.

“Wait, I thought you were Thelma?” They both laughed at the comment, but Stephanie continued. “Seriously, I’m not the one after the hot younger guy… Mine is older, so that makes me Louise.”

Catherine scrunched up her face as she hoisted one of the platters from the counter, “What hot youn-…”

“Hey ladies, can I lend a hand?” Warrick stepped into the kitchen to assist them in transporting the food and would have been hard pressed not to notice the looks that passed between them. “I don’t even wanna know… Just gimme somethin’ to carry.” They both laughed at his discomfort and the timing of his entrance. He took the platter from Catherine and went into the dining area.

Catherine shook her head at Stephanie, who was still laughing, “You are soooo bad.”

“Truth hurts… But seriously, I need to talk to Uncle Gil, can you go grab him please?”

Catherine took the remaining bowls and shook her head again, “Nope… He left.”

“WHAT?!” Stephanie nearly dropped the bowl she was holding when she heard Catherine’s answer. “You were supposed to make sure he stuck around. How’re we-…”

Catherine shushed her quickly, “Calm down… He didn’t leave alone.” That time Stephanie was struck dumb by the answer. “And according to Warrick… We can stop worrying about your uncle.”

The only thing that Stephanie could think to say was, “Go Uncle Gil.”

Her mother chose that moment to re-enter the kitchen, “Oh honey, I forgot to tell you… Gil had to leave. He and that other girl from your work got a call or something and had to leave in a hurry.”

“You saw him?” Stephanie was shocked that her mother had noticed anything.

“Well, yes… He was getting into his car around back when I took the trash out to the bin. Nearly gave the man a heart-attack, to boot.” Her mother went about her business getting a few things from the counter before turning back around to leave again, “Oh, and he wanted to make sure one of us could drive Catherine home tonight, but I told him that wouldn’t be a problem.”

Catherine bumped Stephanie with her hip, “Home? Funny that he would say that.”

Stephanie was confused, “Why?”

“Because my car is sitting out in front of his place right now.”

They were both silent for a few moments before Stephanie finally broke their quiet contemplation of the events that had transpired, “So, do you want to borrow my car this weekend?”

Chapter 44

The fear had gripped his soul when he had nearly stumbled over Elizabeth as he made his way around the car after helping Sara in (and stealing just one more kiss). His mind played over a thousand different nightmares in an instant, worrying over what she must be thinking of him. Gil was certain that he must have been white as a sheet based on the reaction she had upon seeing him. But he was completely shocked by his next reaction; So what? He made a polite excuse to her, saying that they had been called away and did not wish to disturb the party. Gil then asked if she would explain it to Stephanie and Thomas with his apologies, as well as asking her for someone to make sure Catherine got home all right. She had assured him that it would all be just fine, and he should not worry about it. And to his great surprise, he was not worried in the slightest.

When they had pulled away, Sara just sat there with a sideways smirk on her face. He kept looking over at her and trying to figure out what was going through her mind as they started their journey. As they approached the edge of the drive and he was about to turn left to take them to the highway, Sara reached over and put her hand on his forearm, sending an electric shiver through his whole body. Damn! How does she do that?

“Where are you headed?” The look in her eyes melted his heart instantly.

In his slightly melty state, he was not quite sure where he was going, “I ah, well, to be-… I have no idea.” They both giggled at his admission, but as was normally the case, she was the one to take the initiative.

“Well, if you don’t mind the suggestion… Isn’t your place just a few blocks away?” The implication of her tone stoked the fires in his soul and made his heart all the more liquid. “I mean, if we’r-…”

“I know what you meant.” He flipped the turn signal to the other direction and pushed the accelerator.

Before he had his epiphany earlier in the week, he would have been in the throws of panic and intense fear at what they were suggesting, but at that moment he was having trouble even touching that part of his psyche. It was almost as though every fiber of his being was calling out to him in concert in order to tell him one thing: YES!

He only lived five blocks from his goddaughter and her fiancé, but they had become the five longest blocks of his entire life. He focused all of his energy on paying attention to the road, and not looking towards the passenger seat. Not looking at her slender legs all the way up to the hem of her dress. Not noticing the way her dress changed colors in the light. Not paying any attention to the way it formed to her body perfectly, but was still loose enough to look delicate. Not once casting a glance on her bare shoulders where he would surely see the light dusting of freckles that accentuated her otherwise ivory complexion. Not gazing on her silhouetted profile, where he could see her shapely neck in the streetlights. Not… Who am I kidding? If we don’t get to my house soon I’m going to wreck this car.

Never in his life had he ever been so happy to see the street sign on the end of his block. When he turned the corner, he chanced one more look at his passenger, hoping she had not noticed his discomfort while driving. When his eyes met hers, he saw the limitless possibilities this night was going to mean for the both of them, and he smiled. Not a smirk, or a crooked smile, but a full blown, toothy white smile. And she blushed, as though she was also seeing the things that were running through his mind at that very moment, and he truly felt that she was never more beautiful than when she was blushing.

As they pulled up in front of his townhouse and parked in his spot, something caught her eye and she turned to him in a panic. He looked beside the car to see what had caused such a reaction and that was when he knew; Catherine’s car was still here. She would know instantly, and he was going to have to deal with that, but more importantly, he was worried about the reaction of the woman seated beside him right then. He reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder, and again the electricity of touching her surged through to his very core. He took a deep breath as she looked once more into his eyes. In those eyes, he saw fear, and it broke his heart, “Sara, it’s okay.”

“But wha-…”

“I don’t care about that… Just you.” The words came out so effortlessly that time, and he was not sure where they had come from or why he was not so afraid any longer. He just knew that he could not bear to keep himself apart from her for another moment. Timing is everything.

He could tell his words had hit their mark with her when he saw those unbelievably amazing lips of hers pursed into that quirky little grin he had admired for such a long time. He decided to take another risk and ask her a question, “Would you like to come inside?”

Her grin instantly changed into a sultry smile, “I thought you’d never ask.” He wasted no time in questioning her further and leapt from the driver’s seat as he tried to make it to the other side of the car before she attempted to exit. And he almost missed his chance to be the gentleman, as she had already opened the door and swung around in her seat, but he arrived just in time to take her hand and help her out of the car. When her feet made contact with the ground, she wobbled just a bit and he placed a steadying hand on the small of her back. The contact proved to be too much for him and he was forced by his baser instincts to pull her closer to him and wrap her up into a tight embrace as he lowered his mouth onto hers and claimed her lips in a desperately passionate kiss. As their lips met and mingled he felt that the entire universe had just opened up and swallowed them both into a void, in which nothing else existed outside of their own rapturous coil.

When the biting pain in his lungs forced him to release his grip on her mouth his gasps for air were nearly as desperate as his kisses had been and were it not for his arms wrapped tightly around her body, she might have fallen straight to the ground. He could feel the near full weight of her body in his arms and he was glad for it. Once enough oxygen had re-entered his brain he was finally able to form rational thought again and he spoke, “Sorry… I just-…” He stopped when she brought her hand up to lay a finger across his lips and then laid her head beside his on his shoulder. He decided that was a good sign.

They stood there like that, in each other’s arms for what could have been an eternity for all they knew, because time had suddenly lost all meaning to him and he was grateful for that. When she finally raised her head from his shoulder, he was thrilled to see the softness in her eyes. He took one hand from her body and brought it up to cup her chin before placing one more, tender kiss on her lips. She smiled under the touch of his lips to hers and then spoke, “We better not start that again… Not out here anyway.” She tilted her head and pointed her nose towards the next house, “I think they’ve seen enough for one night, don’t you?” His gaze quickly turned to the window of his neighbor’s home and he glared at the person who quickly dropped the curtain they had been holding open. He was going to hear about that someday, but he just did not care. His entire life had been building up to that moment and he was not about to let some nosy neighbors ruin it for him. He held in his arms his entire future, and he was not letting go of it for anyone.

He held her to him tightly once more and then they turned to head inside, when his foot nudged something on the ground; her hand bag. Her gaze followed his, and upon seeing the bag she tried to stifle a giggle. “Note to self: handbags and Grissom kisses are not a good combo.”

Then it was his turn to blush as he bent down to retrieve the bag for her, “I’ll get you one with a strap for next time.”

When he was standing upright again and had handed her back the bag, she gave him a very suggestive look with her eyebrows, “Next time? Getting a little ahead of yourself, aren’t you?”

The left side of his mouth curled up into a devilish grin, “No ma’am… I just know what I want now.” The lurid smile that played across her face as he led her to his door caused his heart to skip a beat.

He reached into his pocket to retrieve his keys and though he tried to do it all with one hand, he found that the door was not willing to cooperate with his plans, and he was forced to remove his other arm from around her back; albeit with great reluctance. As he struggled with the lock on his door, he suddenly sensed an urgency to get through the door when he felt her hands roam their way across his back to lay purchase to his waist as they stopped moving. He looked behind him briefly and found her standing close to him giving her silent (and very tactile) support for his haste. When he turned back to the door, he cursed himself for not having fixed the lock ahead of time. Damn thing has been sticking for weeks!

At last the door swung open and he turned to share his victory with her, but instead he found himself being pushed through the door by the object of his ardor and passion. They were soon locked in a fiery and lascivious exchange, so much so that he was having trouble differentiating between where one of them began and the other ended. Her mouth laid claim to his with all the fervor of six years of anticipation and he found that he was returning each envelopment with his own tempestuous abandon.

Suddenly gaining his balance once more, he leaned forward and encircled her with his arms. The force of which sent them careening into the opposite wall, and as they crossed the hall he was able to think with enough clarity that he slammed the door shut on their way. At some point his keys had fallen to the floor because his foot had just made contact with them and they went sliding across the tiles. They managed to bump and teeter through the entryway and past the kitchen area, disturbing pictures, cases and furniture all along the way, but not once did his mouth leave hers as their lust grew into a frightening frenzy. They left in their wake various personal effects and articles of clothing. By the time they had reached the living room, it looked as though a tornado had come through his home, but he was not paying it any mind. His one all consuming thought was her and until he was certain that she was his completely he would think of nothing else, even if it took a lifetime.

When he found himself pinned to the pillar in the center of his living room, his jacket had been discarded over the breakfast bar of the kitchen, his tie had been thrown onto one of his many bookcases, his shoes kicked off in different directions across the floor and his shirt was being violently ripped from its careful placement within his trousers. Throughout the entire experience, he was certain that their lips had never left one another’s. He also felt her presence on his body, as well as his on hers, during the whole tumultuous journey from his front door to the middle of his townhome. They had become two ravenous, lusty creatures and it would have taken an act of God to separate them at that point, and even then he was not sure it would have stopped them.

He was suddenly brought back into reality by the cool feel of the pillar on his bare back, as his shirt had been ripped away. The icy sensation caused him to arch his back and it broke his mouth away from hers, just in time to allow the oxygen to once more fill his lungs with a gasp. When he returned his gaze upon the woman of his desire, he discovered a wanton creature in her stead, and the look in her eyes was enough to make him connect with his animal nature. Without warning, a low and rumbling growl escaped his throat and he took her into his arms to lay claim to her, body and soul. As his mouth descended upon hers with a ferocity he barely knew existed within him, he made her his, forever.

As he took the breath from her with his emblazoned display of passion, her legs became weak and she fell into his embrace. Feeling the weight of her in his arms, he simply scooped her up and began to make his way to the bedroom. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck as her fingers became intertwined within his hair, but never once did their sweltering kisses cease. His mind so filled with deep and blazing passion, he nearly failed to turn to get them into the doorway, but at the last moment she grabbed the doorjamb and caused them to turn on her pivot.

When they reached the bed, he was almost tempted to throw her to it and ravage her with the effects of six years of tortuous denial. But his own thoughts frightened him in that instant and he drew in a desperately needed breath of air as he carefully released his hold on her legs and they came to rest on the floor so that they were standing there together. As he continued to draw in air he found that her lips were slowly making their way down his neck to his collarbone. They were hot against his bare skin, and they left behind moist circles which sent shivers across his flesh as the air would touch the evidence of her affections. With each touch of her lips to his flesh, his mind became more and more clouded with desire, but it practically exploded when her breath moved across his chest and he felt her tongue reach out to his nipple. The desire was too much for him to contain any longer and he grabbed her by the arms and claimed her mouth again for his own. His hands began to roam across her back in search of some way to relieve her of her clothing. When his desperate attempts were proving futile, he felt her reaching around her back to pull his hands away. In his confusion, he looked into her eyes, but then she moved his hands to her shoulders and the straps of her dress. It took him only a moment to understand what she meant and when she returned her lips to his chest he slipped the straps down, one at a time, following their descent with his own kisses. His attention to her skin had her throwing her head back and he took advantage of the access to her throat. He began to make his way down the length of it with his mouth and as he progressed she fell back into his arms once more. That provided him with his first actual glimpse of the object that had plagued his dreams for so long; her naked form. His breath caught in his throat at first sight of her breasts, but his desire soon overpowered him and he found his lips reaching out to claim them for himself. His mind was consumed with the need to claim as much of her as he could, and everything else was gone. His entire world was held within his grasp, and he was not going to let anything stand in his way any longer.

The revelation had a profound impact on his psyche, and in an instant he had dropped to his knees and buried his face into her belly, clutching his arms around her waist. He was overcome with emotion and began to weep. The moment could have cost him everything, and he struggled to regain control of himself for fear that she would abandon him for his weakness. Instead, he felt her take hold of his head and stroke his hair as she lowered herself to her knees. When she had come face to face with him, he was unable to look up, embarrassed by his display with the tears still wet on his cheeks. She took his face in her hands and held him up so that their eyes met, and when he stared into those rich brown eyes he found something he never expected to see; her love. What he saw there caused his heart to swell, and though no words passed between them, he knew that she felt everything that he was feeling in that moment. Their lips met again, not with the ferocious passion that had been consuming them before that moment, but with the gentleness of the deep and abiding love that was being shared between them.

When his lips finally left hers, he was trailing them down her neck and then to her shoulders. He was trying to touch his lips to every single one of the delicate freckles he found on his journey across her precious skin. And while the long awaited sensation of his lips touching her flesh was sending him to new heights of pleasure, it was the feel of her fingers making their way over his chest and playfully teasing his nipples that was bringing his own arousal to his attention. Without realizing it, a strange sound was escaping his throat. It was deep and it was guttural and he had no idea he could ever be capable of such a thing, but the moans were coming from deep inside his soul and he had absolutely no control over them. Nor did he seem to have control over his own actions, because it was almost as though he were watching himself as he began to stand, taking her into his arms as he made his return to his feet. She continued her attentions on him, as she placed tender kisses along his cheek and neck, and he returned them with the same tenderness.

He moved to the bed and kneeled down into the center, carefully laying her out on his bed and kissing her lips as they descended. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck and he felt a tremendous need to never part their bodies again, but he also wanted to demonstrate the full depth of his emotion for her, so he reached up to disentangle her arms. Instead, he held them over her head and exposed the entire length of her slender arms to his view. He traced his lips from the top at her delicate wrists all the way down with tiny kisses; alternating from one arm to the next and back again. When he reached her broad and beautiful shoulders once more he shifted to her collarbone and that was when he became aware of her shallow and stuttered breathing. Much to his surprise and delight, she was responding to his ministrations and he continued on his sensual path of exploration. His own desire and arousal were increasing with each new discovery, and he was amazed by every little thing that he was learning about her; every freckle, every mole, every tiny crease and every curve of her body. His mind was putting each minute detail into his databank, but it was not prepared for his next experience. He continued his progress south, nipping and nibbling at every square centimeter of her speckled, ivory flesh until he reached her tender and supple breasts, and then he stopped. His eyes beheld something that he had never dared to imagine that they would be blessed enough to see. He might have continued to admire the soft curve of her breasts a while longer, but the sound of her whimper shook him from his trance and forced him to realize that he too was feeling the emptiness from their loss of contact and he dove back into paradise. He made certain to give special care to the sensational creature beneath him as he nipped and suckled at her right breast. He carefully traced, with his tongue, the dusky circle at the center and was rewarded with the perking of her nipple into an erect symbol of her arousal. He then turned his focus to the other breast, giving it the same loving attention and he was delighted to see that she was continuing to be responsive to his caresses. This only fueled his desire to please her more, and he had gained the confidence he needed to continue his southward journey. His mouth began to trail kisses down between her breasts and when he reached the outer line of her abdominal muscles he started tracing the line with his tongue causing her to arch her back up into his face in waves. He moved his one arm to hold her behind her back so that they could be moving in concert with one another as he proceeded to make his way down each line of her well defined belly.

They were both rolling with the tide of their combined arousal and the flames of their desires were building into a raging inferno. When he thought he could no longer wait, he moved southward once more, determined to show this amazing beauty, this unbelievable woman just how much he wanted her, just how much he loved her.

While he continued to nibble at her navel, his left hand moved down to her silken panties. He half expected her to stop him at the first tug, but instead he found her moving to give him better purchase to remove her final garment. When he had slipped them down to her thighs, she raised her right knee up and it allowed him to slide the panties off her left leg, and then it was only one swift movement before he was tossing them to the floor. And, as much as he wished to please her, he was unable to resist the temptation that her impossibly long leg was offering him as it was raised, so he began to stroke it with his left hand. That delicious experience was only whetting his appetite for more, and soon his mouth was trailing over her knee to her thigh. As he explored her thigh with his tongue, his hand was doing some exploring of its own, and it was not until she had wiggled into his grasp that he realized what he was doing. His fingers had found that most tender of places and were teasing at her flesh. Upon understanding that the moans he was now hearing were coming from the object of his desire he lost interest in her legs and moved to her center, once more. His fingers were quickly replaced by his mouth, and now his suckling had found a new purpose as she began to writhe with wild abandon at his careful ministrations. Soon, her hands were gripping his head and he was not sure if she holding him there, or trying to get him to move, but the gyrations of her body into his face told him that he was providing her with the pleasure he so desperately wished to give her. When he felt the waves of her ecstasy cascading over her body, his own arousal became heated and undeniable. He needed to feel her all around him and needed it badly. It also appeared that she was having a similar feeling, because she was trying to pull him towards her. He needed no further prodding.

As he began to make the trek back to the Northern Territories, he became vaguely aware that something was holding him back; or more specifically, holding him down. He was still wearing his pants. He instantly sat up on his knees and began to claw at his belt, but his hands were quickly batted away when she leaned forward, kissed his belly and began to undo his belt and removed it from his trousers before it tossing onto the floor. When she returned her attention to his pants, he had already undone the fastener and the zipper, and she helped him to tug them down his legs. Before either of them made the next move, she looked up into his eyes, and he saw in them her unwavering desire. That was too much for him and he took her face into his hands and brought his mouth down onto her kiss swollen lips once more. The kiss was instantly bringing his desire for her back into a fevered pitch, but he was then acutely aware of another thing fueling the fires of his passion; her hands had already pulled his boxers away and had begun to stroke and caress him in ways that he had never experienced in his lifetime.

Unable to contain himself any longer, he moved to lay her back down onto the bed as he positioned himself to claim one last thing. Holding himself over her, he kissed at her neck once more and then took a deep and reassuring breath. When he felt her hands on his hips, urging him to continue, he began his descent into Nirvana. She guided him the entire way, and when he was poised at the gate, he felt her body arching up to him. He held her to him closely, still kissing at her neck and shoulder, as she did to him, and then he slowly and carefully pushed his way through the gates of Heaven. In that instant, as he felt himself being sheathed within her core, his mind exploded out into the universe of consciousness and everything else fell away into nothingness. There was only him and her, and they were enjoined into a single entity in that moment and he knew, without reservation or fear, that no matter the obstacle, no matter how difficult things might become for them, he would sacrifice anything and everything to remain with her.

He was brought back into the moment when she wrapped one of her long, luscious legs around him, urging him closer, deeper. With her arms grasping his neck and shoulders tightly, they began to move in a timeless rhythm, and he was feeling wave upon wave of absolute pleasure filling his mind, body and soul. He had no idea how long they had remained in the rocking of those waves, but he knew that his body would no longer be able to sustain it. He could feel his climax building in him like a Mars rocket about to lift off, and it increased the pace of his thrusts with his desperation to bring her even one more moment of pleasure before he reached his own pinnacle. When he felt her arch her back and clench tightly around him, he could hold back no longer, and he reached that mountain he had long desired.

When he felt every cubic centimeter of his energy being drained from his body, he nearly dropped his entire weight upon hers, but at the last moment, he tried to move away from her to fall onto the bed beside her. However, she was not having any of that, and she refused to release her grip on him, instead, bringing him down on top of her, to feel the full weight of him bear down her, refusing to let them part. Understanding her need to remain connected, he chose instead to use that one last drop of strength he had left in his body to roll over onto his back, bringing her with him to rest on his chest, as they both fought to regain their breaths.

He fought to stay conscious, but the expending of so much physical, sexual, emotional and psychic energy had taken its toll on him, his eyes were barely open when he felt her giggle as the sound slowly pierced his exhausted mind. He opened one eye to look upon her face, and the smile he found there was drowsy and mischievous. When she saw that he was paying attention, he heard her speak, “You know what our problem is, Dr. Grissom? We think and talk too much.” She kissed his chest where she was nuzzling before she continued, “We’re much better at this.”

He watched her curl up in his arms and her eyes began to fall closed, as it was apparent that she too was exhausted from their coupling. And just before he drifted off into his own well-deserved slumber, he left her with a few words, “I think… It’s safe to call me Gil now.” As his consciousness withered away, he felt her soft laughter against his chest.

Chapter 45

With their feet propped up on the rustic kitchen table, Catherine and Stephanie both looked like that had just finished a double shift. The only evidence that this was a good thing were the smiles on their faces as they sipped their coffee and surveyed the room around them. Catherine inhaled sharply and blew out the air in a rapid blast, “Man! That was one hell of a party there, kid.”

Stephanie nodded her head in an exaggerated gesture, “Yes indeedy… That went very well.”

Their solitude was interrupted by the arrival of a very tall, very well-built and very handsome young doctor. He leaned over and kissed Stephanie on the cheek before he proceeded to the refrigerator, took out a bottle of water and then turned around to lean on the closed door. “Last of the trash is in the bin… Carter is passed out in the study… Your mother went to bed about an hour ago. She was wiped!” He took a big swig from the bottle of water before he continued, “And I am next to fall.” He walked back to his fiancé, leaned over her head and kissed her lips while suspended upside down, “Goodnight, baby.” As he walked passed Catherine he laid a hand on her shoulder and then made a joke on his way out the room, “Goodnight, Aunt Catherine.”

Catherine made her surprised and indignant face with her mouth hung wide open, but a hint of a smile still there, “Uh! He is so going to pay for that one.”

Stephanie just shook her head, which was still laying back against the back of the chair, “Nah… I’ll fix him later, besides, you might as well get used to it. I think it’s gonna stick.” She chuckled at the thought of Catherine being in the same position as Gil, but as humorous as Catherine’s reaction had been when she and Thomas had made the joke earlier, she had to admit there was a little truth in it. She really did feel that Catherine had become a very real part of their little family over the last few weeks. It probably did not hurt that she had spent a good portion of her life hearing stories about Catherine from her uncle. It gave her a head start on feeling familiar around her, and since Catherine was also the first person to figure out who she was, there had been that comfort level for much longer than anyone else. She also had felt an immediate connection to Catherine, and when both parents are orphans, a person misses out on things like aunts and uncles, so Stephanie had always had to look to others to fill that void. It was just that until she came to Las Vegas, no other woman had held their own with her parents or in Stephanie’s eyes. Catherine fit that bill to the tee. She was smart, brassy and full of confidence, and Stephanie also admired her ability to lead with subtlety. Stephanie was hoping to learn a little of that talent from the woman, because subtlety had never been one of her strong suits. She was about as blunt as a Castro District drag queen, so she could use a little help in that area.

Catherine noticed the far away look in the younger woman’s eyes, and smiled a little to herself. She missed the days when she could look to the future, but her life had taught her to be more concerned with tomorrow and not next year. She also silently had to admit that she was touched by her and Thomas’ inclusion into their little family unit. Though Catherine was finally getting a glimpse of family life in her own home, she was actually enjoying being part of this one as well. Stephanie’s mother was a classy and intelligent lady, and she had enjoyed the time they had spent together over their week of planning and plotting. She felt close to Stephanie in a way she had not felt to another woman in a very long time, and she genuinely liked the kid. She was open and honest and always looking out for those she held dear. And the fact that Catherine had finally seen inside that carefully protected world of Gil’s was another bonus. She had always wondered if he kept the best parts of his life hidden away from everyone else, and now she knew. He was just afraid of people knowing too much about him, because of the power it gave them. Stephanie, who probably knew more about him than anyone in the world, was still kept in the dark about other aspects of his life, but she held a tremendous power over him because of her knowledge. She had witnessed that power, and she had been surprised by the person it brought out in Gil. Her only hope now, was that this weekend killed “Grissom the Enigma” forever. That guy needed to be put out of his misery a long time ago.

The smirk that curled up the corner of her mouth as she had that thought had not gone unnoticed, “So, what’re you thinking right now?”

A light went off in Catherine’s mind, a devilish and delightful light, “I was just thinking… I need my car this weekend.” Her eyebrow cocked with the statement and caused Stephanie to lean forward again, as she held her side and laughed.

“Oh my God! You really are bad!” The two women chuckled and sipped at their coffee a moment longer, before Stephanie rose from her seat and reached for her keys hanging on the wall. “Ready?”

The impish glint in her eyes was too much for Catherine, and she laughed again, “I’M bad?!” But that did not stop Catherine from standing up and walking to the hall closet to retrieve her jacket and purse. “Let’s go!”

Both women practically ran to the garage and hopped into the Thing. It was a typically cool Vegas night, but they opted to make the quick trek over to Gil’s house with the top down. They looked at each in the car and were simply unable to keep the joke from coming back, “Are you sure?” Stephanie asked her with a wink.

Catherine caught her cue and nodded, “Hit it.” Stephanie dropped it into gear and tore (carefully) out of the garage, both of them laughing their heads off as they left.

Their Grand Canyon was, in fact, the five blocks it took to get to Gil’s townhouse on the other side of the development. The two women speculated about what they were going to do once they got there, but in the end they found no lights on in the house, so they just quietly made their way to Catherine’s car.

Catherine got out of the Thing and she and Stephanie were about to say their parting goodbyes when Stephanie’s face scrunched up into a questioning expression. Catherine asked her what the problem was, “What is it?”

Stephanie held up a pointed finger and Catherine followed it to a strange object laying on the step outside of Gil’s townhouse. Her curiosity proved too great, so she walked over to the object, knelt down to pick it up, and then held it out for a closer examination.

Calling out to her with an exaggerated whisper, Stephanie’s curiosity had also been piqued, “What is it?”

She walked slowly back to the car to show Stephanie exactly what she held in her hands; a woman’s shawl that happened to match exactly to what Sara had been wearing earlier that evening. They both were looking at the item with a sense of awe and wonder. Catherine was the first to break their amazed silence, “You don’t think-…” She looked back at the darkened townhouse. “I mean, you really think-…” She left the thought hanging in the air unspoken.

Stephanie started to smile and nodded her head, “Go Uncle Gil.”

Chapter 46

There was no light in the room, and with her head tucked into the crook of her arm, she had no frame of reference for her location as consciousness began to slowly creep back to her drowsy mind. She felt worn out, but oddly relieved. She had slept well for the first time in a very long while and she was not sure if that was just how sleep felt for most people. She had little frame of reference for that conclusion as of late. The one thing that Sara Sidle was certain of in the pre-waking moment, was that something was different.

She took in a deep lungful of air through her nose and mouth, and that was her first indication that she was not at home. She knew those smells, she had just never experienced them together. Those scents were two things that she had dreamed of experiencing at the same moment, and she felt she needed to be sure that was what was happening. She had dreamed of this moment more times than she could remember, and she wanted to be absolutely positive that this was not a dream. When she inhaled next it was fully through her nose and there it was; Grissom and musk.

She felt that she was alone in the bed where she was laying, but she also realized that it was not her bed when she moved her other arm in search of her nightstand and found an unfamiliar lamp instead. She took another deep breath, and decided it was time to open her eyes. First, she removed the arm that would have blocked her view and slid it across the other side of the bed. She found a definite body print beside her, but it was no longer warm. How long ago had he left her there? Where was he? And where was she?

Sara had stalled long enough and she slowly fluttered her eyes open, hoping to avoid any light which may be waiting to pain her eyes. She found none. She did find two bath towels, neatly folded and resting on the bed beside her. She arched her back and propped herself up on her forearms and noticed that there was a sticky note on top of the towels. It was far too dark in the room to read the note, so she flopped onto her back and reached over to turn on the lamp her earlier exploration had discovered. She grabbed the note and read it: “Shower’s on your left, help yourself. –GG.” She stared at the note for a few moments, wondering why it sounded so plain, as though nothing had happened that night. Leave it to him to make THAT nothing!

She grabbed the towels, and grunted her frustration as she headed into the bathroom. When she got in there she found her hand bag had made its way onto the bathroom counter, alongside a hand towel with an assortment of small portion toiletries stacked on it and another sticky note: “Hope this is enough… If not, help yourself. –GG.” She picked through the items, looking for the travel sized shampoo and conditioner and a tiny bar of soap, leaving the toothbrush and paste behind for after the shower. How often does he do this that he keeps supplies handy?

As she stood under the hot water spray of the shower, she was becoming rather indignant. He was not there when she woke up, he had left these notes for her, and she was beginning to wonder if he was even still in the house. By the time she had washed the last of the conditioner out of her hair and turned off the water, she had started formulating exactly which piece of her mind she was going to give him.

She stood in front of the mirror to brush her teeth and began to rehearse what she was going to say when she saw him. She was not sure why, but she unconsciously removed her makeup from the handbag and tried to make herself presentable. As she was finishing up she found another sticky note; this one held up with a piece of scotch tape as insurance; “Bottom Drawers = Pants/Shorts, Middle Drawers = Shirts… Help yourself. –GG.” She stared at the note for a few minutes, her mouth hanging open in disbelief. She was convinced that he had probably already skipped out of the place and was doing his best to make the whole night disappear. I’ll be damned if I’m gonna let him get away with THAT!

She stomped out of the bathroom and over to the dresser, yanked open the bottom drawer, found a pair of gym shorts and pulled them out. Then she yanked open a middle drawer and found an LVPD golf shirt to put on. She dressed in an angry rage, mumbling to herself over and over that he had better not think he was going to get away with treating her that way. Once she was dressed in his clothes, with them hanging off of her in every direction, she began to search the room for her own clothes, but she found nothing out of place, other than the bed. Everything had been tidied up in the room, and that made her even angrier. Does he think he can just wipe everything away?!

Sara threw open the bedroom door and made her way out into the living room. When she entered the room, she discovered that there was no evidence of the maelstrom of passion that had blown through the room just hours before. The clothing had been picked up, the furniture righted and the pictures and cases centered once again. It was almost as though the whole thing had been a dream, but Sara knew deep down in her soul that there was no way it had only been a dream.

She was standing in the center of the room, her face red with her anger and her breathing becoming ragged in her fury when she finally noticed the movement on the other side of the breakfast bar in the kitchen. His back was turned to her and she could not see his face. She also could not hear anything at first, because her blood was boiling with such ferocity that her ears were roaring in her head. But then it happened. She heard a strange sound coming from the kitchen. It was whistling. Grissom was whistling.

When he turned to grab something from the cabinet behind him he caught site of her in the center of his living room, and then he did something that shocked Sara to her very core: he smiled at her. It was not a cautious smile or even a friendly smile. It was filled with warmth and it was the most inviting smile she could ever remember seeing on his face in her life.

He looked down at the watch on his wrist and then looked back at her as he moved out of the kitchen, “Hey there sleepyhead. I was beginning to think I was going to have to wake you up for breakfast.”

His voice shocked her out of her stupor and she shook her head to clear the fog of confusion that had just fallen over her. “Um, no… I guess I was, ah, just tired.”

He crossed the rest of the distance between them while she fought to make sense of the whole thing. He stopped just short of her personal space and looked her up and down, “I don’t think that outfit would turn many heads on the strip, but it’s the best thing I’ve seen in a long time.” He grinned at her and then kissed her on the forehead. “Come on and sit down… I’m almost done in here.” He motioned for her to follow him into the kitchen, and that was when she noticed he was wearing an apron and holding a spatula. His apron was covered in what looked like flour and he seemed to be trying to keep from getting anything on Sara. Once she had padded into the kitchen, he kicked out one of the backed bar stools from the breakfast bar and pointed to get her to take the seat. He turned back to the cook top, but began talking with his back to her, “Sorry, I wasn’t really planning on any company, so I’m afraid all I have to offer you is some apple juice and some pancakes I managed to whip up.” He turned back around to her, “You do eat pancakes, still? Even if I used butter?”

She realized he was asking about her being a vegetarian and responded, “Yeah, I’m just a no meat vegetarian. I’m not rabid over it.” He chuckled at her answer and turned back to his griddle.

“That’s good… I had to settle for pancakes, because I didn’t even have enough eggs for a decent omelet. And for some reason I didn’t even think to check before I ran out to get the shower stuff.” He turned back to face her again, “Did I get enough of that? Or even come close to the right stuff?”

She was shocked at his question, because it meant that he had purposely left the house in search of those items for her to take a shower in his home. “Um, yeah, it was fine.”

He smiled and turned back to his cooking, “Oh good… I’m afraid I’m not very well versed in that kind of thing, so I was hoping I hadn’t screwed it up.”

Sara smirked at his response and realized that she had awoke to a whole new world, and as she drew her knees up into the seat with her she also decided that she needed to stop reacting as though it were still the old world. This is going to take some getting used to.

Grissom flipped his last pancake up into the air and caught it on the plate with all the others as he turned around to face her with that adorable smirk of his curling the side of his mouth. “Hungry?”

“Starved.” She smiled back at him and he kissed her forehead again when he put the plate of pancakes down in front of her before he turned around to reach into the refrigerator.

When he returned to the breakfast bar, he had a bottle of apple juice and a small sauce pot from the cook top. “I’m afraid I was also without maple syrup, so I made something else to go with the pancakes.” He placed the small, handled pot down onto a ceramic tile and poured her a glass of juice before sitting down beside her at the breakfast bar.

She leaned over and sniffed the pot, “Mmmmmm… That smells like cinnamon?” She was surprised that he had any idea that she loved cinnamon in almost any form.

“Yeah, don’t ask me why, but-…” When she looked at him, he had the most confused expression on his face, “But I have been thinking about cinnamon ever since last night. I even could’ve sworn that I tasted it when I woke up.” He screwed up his mouth to one side as he tried to figure out the mystery that had been plaguing him, but Sara’s face was beginning to flood with a deep blush and when he turned to look at her, she was lowering her gaze with her hand up to her mouth, “What?”

She looked up into his eyes, and though he was genuinely wondering what she was giggling about, she loved the confused expression on his face. Unable to hide the mystery any longer, she leaned over and gently kissed his lips. She had only intended on it being a tender and quick peck, but when he met her caress, it became a loving exchange between the two of them. Just before they pulled away, his eyes opened wide in surprise and he held her back from him a moment, “It was you?”

It was her turn to screw up her mouth into a satisfied smirk, “Well, my lip gloss anyway.”

He sat there for a moment, but she could tell that something to say had struck him, and she prepared for the horribly corny line that she just knew was about to escape that wonderful mouth of his. He tilted his head to the side, took the pot from the tile and began to pour the rich sauce over her pancakes, but when he made it over to his plate, he was unable to resist the line any longer, “Sugar and spice, and everything nice.”

She stuffed the first bite into her mouth as she leaned against him trying not to laugh as she chewed the food. He just sat there with a satisfied grin on his face.

They finished their meal in a quiet silence, but their eyes rarely left one another as they ravenously consumed the food he had prepared for them. The silence came from two sources; their sudden comfort together, and their fear that it might all come crashing down if one of them made the wrong move.

As Gil watched the last morsel of food disappear into her very sensual mouth, he found that he was being mesmerized by the sight of her. He knew that he could not keep up the silence any longer. His own lingering doubts were screaming at him to say something. SAY SOMETHING!

“Sara?” He waited for her to reluctantly face him, “What does all this mean?”

“Wow… Six years and you choose NOW to lay it all out?” She was completely flabbergasted that he would be the one to start that conversation.

He looked down and took her hand into his as threaded his fingers into hers, “Better late than never?”

She placed her other hand on his cheek and forced him to look up into her eyes. “We’ve been dancing around this for more than six years… So, US figuring it all out in one night is never going to happen, Gris.”

When he did not move for a while, she dropped her legs to the floor and stood beside his seat. But it was when she took his head into her arms that he finally began to respond, “Is it never going to be easy for us?”

She chuckled a little at that question and held him closer to her breast, “Only if we’re lucky.” They both laughed at her answer, because they knew in their hearts that she was one hundred percent correct. They were simply not easy people, and that was what made them great. Not just alone, but especially together. They both knew in that moment, that if nothing else, life would never get boring around them.

When he finally raised his gaze again, he saw a glint of desire in Sara’s eyes, and he looked down at his watch. “Well, we have a few hours before I can take the clothes to the dry cleaners and go to the grocery store… Got any suggestions?”

She raised her eyebrow and took his hand before turning and beginning to walk away from the breakfast bar. He had one last remark to make, “But what about the dishes?” The heated and salacious look on her face when she turned back to glare at him sent tendrils of ecstasy throughout his entire being, “I can buy more.”

Chapter 47

Sunday afternoon came far sooner than either of them imagined that it would. However, its presence had not yet been given the chance to weigh down on them. Gil breathed deeply with his overwhelming satisfaction at having woken up once more with the warmth of her body clinging closely to him and his arms wrapped tightly around her. When he craned his neck up, he could see her nestled into his side with her head resting on his shoulder, and she was smiling. He realized, in watching her sleep, that his judgment had not been accurate just two days before. She was most beautiful to him when she was sleeping beside him. Her face was practically serene, and her whole being radiated warmth and contentment. It radiated so strongly that he was caught up in it, and for the first time in his active memory he felt at peace with everything, in everything. He basked in that warmth as he closed his eyes against the sun which was desperately trying to alert them to the impending reality of the world outside.

“Don’t you dare.” Sara’s voice caused him to pop open his eyes and look over to find her sleepy smile waiting for him. “There is no time for you to fall back asleep, Dr. Grissom.”

He shook his head when she moved up to his chest to rest her chin on her forearms and look directly into his face. “What am I going to have to do to get you to stop calling me that?”

She scrunched up her mouth and then looked up and to the right, as though she were thinking of something, “Hmmmm… Well, you could start with a kiss…” He gladly obliged and found her still smiling. “And then fix us some breakfast; I’m starving!”

“Again?!” He was surprised by her voracious appetite. For a lot of things.

“Food, this time. I’ll have to control myself for the other.” She rolled off of him and jumped to her feet. As he was staring at her with a shocked expression, she turned back with that suggestive smirk curling the corner of her mouth, “For now, anyway.” She left him to his lurid thoughts as she entered the bathroom.

He was chuckling to himself as he got up from the bed and threw on a shirt and some shorts. But just when he was about to head to the kitchen, she called out from the bathroom, obviously talking with a toothbrush in her mouth, “And hurry up… I need you to drop me off at my place before work.”

There it was. She had said the dirty word that he had been dreading all weekend. He stopped in his tracks and stood there with his shoulders slumped over slightly. And, as though she could sense that her words had made an impact on him, she leaned seductively out of the bathroom and stretched one of her legs out to push at his backside, “No chickening out now… Besides, I can’t very well show up to work in your sweatpants and an ‘I Love Bugs’ t-shirt… Breaks the dress code.” When he looked into her eyes, he instantly realized that it would all work out.

She winked at him and he grabbed her leg from the wall it was clinging to, and brought it up to his face, then he kissed her toes. “As you wish.” The depth of the emotion in his eyes as he looked up at her caused her to blush that time and it warmed his heart even more.

He went straight to the kitchen and began to whip them up a breakfast fit for a king. Or at least a jester and his Queen. And by the time she had emerged from the bedroom, wearing the slippers he kept at the bottom of his closet and dressed in a pair of his sweatpants and another LVPD golf shirt (this one with his embroidered name loosely hanging over her right breast) he had to laugh at the sight. “I’m telling you, it’s a fashion statement I could get used to.”

She looked down at the ridiculous nature of her attire and smirked as she shook her head, “Somehow, I don’t see this look taking off…” She thought about what she had just said and changed her opinion, “Well, it’s at least not being taken off at the moment.” She winked seductively at him, “We’ll talk again, after work.” She saw him shrink again with her mention of work and she had a moment of worry in her eyes. However, she quickly pushed it aside and moved to stand behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist as she propped her chin up on his shoulder, “You know, work isn’t a dirty word, Gil.” She felt him sigh with her words, “Tell ya what… Why don’t we sit down at the tabl-…” She had a second thought, and looked back at the table, “Wait, did we remember to clean the table?”

He was not sure how she had done it, but her question had instantly brought him back into the sunlight of this new phase of their relationship, and he nodded his head, “Oh yeah, I wiped it down again while I was making breakfast.”

She let go of his waist and wiggled into the space between him and counter to grab the plates he had prepared for them, “Oh good, then let’s sit down there and eat… And then we can talk about our game plan for the shift.” She deftly transferred the plates to the table and he grabbed the two cups and the pot of coffee to bring with them.

Sara did not immediately begin to talk, instead she started in on the food before she had even taken her seat. He delighted at the sounds that were escaping her mouth as she thoroughly enjoyed the food he had made for her. He had never been one for the vegetarian lifestyle, but he thought he could get used to some of its finer points. Especially if it meant making Sara as happy as she was right then. Every mouthful seemed to thrill her more, and his heart sang at pleasing her, even in small ways like cooking.

When he finally realized that she had not spoken again, he understood that she was giving him plenty of room to voice his concerns before making her own comments. So, he took a deep breath and made the first move, “Sara, I can’t deny that I don’t want this weekend to be over, but-…” He stopped, not sure of how to proceed, but knowing that he must, “But we have to be careful… Ecklie is just looking for something to nail both of us with. And I don’t want to do anything that would damage your reputation, either.”

Sara nearly choked when he made his last comment, “My reputation?!”

He nodded his head, “Yes, you don’t think people won’t be saying anything about you dating the supervisor? And what that would mean?” He was shocked that she had never considered the repercussions of dating a superior.

She just shook her head, “It would mean that the gossip mill would have some more to grind up, but in the end, my work, and your work speaks for itself, Gil.” She pointed her fork at him, “Besides, it’s not like I plan on throwing you over the layout table and having my way with you…” She thought about that image a moment and the corner of her mouth turned up at the idea. “Yeah, so anyway, we’ll just handle ourselves the same way we always have. If anything, it will improve our working relationship.”

He scrunched up his face into a question and asked, “How do you mean?”

“Please, Gil… You can’t honestly tell me that the tension between us hasn’t driven you crazy at times.” She was being totally serious and he had to concede the point to her, and he shrugged to show his acceptance. “I mean seriously, the whole lab has felt it at times.”

That shocked him. He knew that Catherine had long sensed the tension between them, but he truly did not realize that anyone else had clued in on it, “Really?” She laughed at his question and he guessed from her reaction that it was indeed the case. He took a bit of his food and mulled that over a while.

Sara just shook her head as she drew her knees up to her chest in the chair and sipped at her coffee, “It’s amazing.”

He furrowed his brow and asked, “What’s that?”

“Oh nothing, I’m just figuring out that this whole time I thought you were doing this thing on purpose… But you really are just clueless sometimes…” She chuckled some more at the thought, “Totally adorable, but completely clueless.”

He was about to take an affront to her comment, but then he realized that had she called him adorable, and he turned his head up and smirked at the thought. “Adorable, huh?”

She leered at his acknowledgement of half of her statement, “Totally!” And then she threw her head back and laughed, “My God! What have I gotten myself into?!”

She was still laughing to herself when he stood up and grabbed both of their empty plates. He then leaned down over her head and kissed her forehead, “A lifetime of me.”

Sara reached up and held him from moving away. “Deal,” and kissed him gently on the lips.

Chapter 48

He had managed to get through half of the shift without hearing a word from Catherine, (who had been running late and had to meet up with Warrick on the scene of their case for the night) or Stephanie, but Grissom knew that the axe would fall soon enough. The first one was about to drop, as he pushed through the doors of the Autopsy Room.

Stephanie did not even look up from the body that she was working on when he entered the room. He cleared his throat, hoping to catch her attention, but she did not respond. Fearing proximity, he hesitated before taking those first few steps toward her. When he got up beside her and she still had not responded, he looked more closely at her and realized that she had headphones stuck in her ears. So, he took a deep breath and tapped her on the shoulder.

He instantly realized his mistake when she jumped back, holding a sharp implement and clutching at her chest, “JESUS!!! Don’t do that!” She leaned against the exam slab for a moment to catch her breath and then ripped off her gloves and took the headphones out of her ears and turned to actually see who had just scared the devil out of her. That was when the sneer appeared on her face, “Oh… It’s you.”

Grissom shivered to animate the coolness of her tone, “Wow, I know this is the morgue, but that was cold.”

She turned and walked back to the shelf at the wall and grabbed a fresh pair of gloves, “I’m not sure I want to talk you, right now.”

He hung his head down in a show of his shame, “I know, and I-…”

“No, you don’t know… Or you would have at least called me SOME time over the weekend to apologize.” She looked up at him and her eyes were all he needed to see to feel some of her anger. “Or did you just forget we were supposed to take Mom to the symphony last night?”

Grissom cringed at the mention of the event that had completely slipped his mind, “Oh, Stephie… I totally forgot.” When she saw the sorrow in his face she softened a little. “I really did forget about it, and I guess I never wrote it down. Can you forgive me?”

She walked back to the slab and passed him without regard on her way before speaking, “I’m still mad right now… Ask me again later.” She started back to work and stayed silent for a few moments.

Grissom was trying to work out in his mind how he was going explain himself to Stephanie without giving up too much information. He knew she deserved a full explanation, but he was not even sure he could put it into words himself yet. “Steph, is there anything I can do?”

“You can grab those reports on my desk and distribute them for me. And you can come to dinner with Father Wilhelm Monday night.” He cringed at the mention of the priest. He had been avoiding the issue with her ever since her arrival, but with the wedding looming over them, he knew it was coming.

“Steph, you know how I feel about th-…”

“And you know how I feel, so if you expect me to respect you, then you have to return the favor, even if you don’t like it.” She delivered the comment with her hand planted firmly on her hip, and he knew there was no fighting her on the issue.

And he had to admit, she was right. He could not very well claim to be tolerant, if he was not willing to tolerate that which he had come to despise. He shrugged his shoulders, “Fine… I’ll concede the point.” When she smiled and turned back to her work, he walked over to her office and called out when he was not sure which reports she wanted, “Which ones?”

“The stack on the edge closest to you on the right… That says ‘Distribution Copy’ on top.” He picked them up and stared at them curiously. He could vaguely remember seeing that stamp before, but it had been a long time.

“Since when did we start this policy?” He called back out to her as he leafed through the reports.

“Not my fault you swoop in here before they get stamped and bully your way into making the assistants hand them over.” He smirked at her observation of his modus operandi. He then sat down in the guest chair and started reviewing the one from his last case. He was so entranced by his reading that he completely missed what was happening in the room outside of the office.

Sara walked into the Autopsy Room and was fully prepared to throw herself on Stephanie’s mercy for leaving the party Friday night, but she was wholly unprepared for what actually awaited her. “I was hoping you were in here tonight.” She tried to keep her tone light, expecting to tell her that she had been called away and did not wish to disturb the party, just like Grissom had told her mother on Friday. She had her story ready to go, but Stephanie had other plans.

“I’m not talking to you, right now.” Stephanie did not even raise her head from her work to answer Sara.

Sara was immediately struck dumb by her response. She stood there with her mouth open for a few moments before she was able to speak, “Look, I’m really sorry about Friday… I mean, I didn-…”

“I’m still not talking to you… Too mad,” Stephanie reached over to her instrument cart and removed the sternum saw. Sara had to look away as she started to hack away at the victim’s breastplate.

She was turned away with a horrified expression on her face when Stephanie’s head popped up as though she remembered something and turned back to check on Sara. “Sorry… I forgot.” She put the saw down and reached over to pull the drape back over the body. When she turned around she had discarded the gloves into the trash container beside her. “All better.”

Sara slowly turned back and found that the body that had been on display was completely covered and Stephanie was taking off her gown and tossing into the trash bin at her feet. She was still cringing a bit when she turned around, but more importantly, she was struggling to keep the bile at bay. “I really need to get over this thing.”

Stephanie left her line of sight for a moment, and when she returned she had a paper cup with some water in it. “Here, this’ll help.” She also grabbed the stool and rolled it over to her. Stephanie put a hand on her shoulder and made her sit down. “Hold your head back and breathe.”

Sara was tempted to fight the attention, but the nausea threatening to take hold gave her no ability, so she just asked questions, “Does all of that really help?”

“Nausea has two main effects… One involves backing up the stomach juices and drinking the water forces your stomach muscles to stay in the right gear.” She had brought her another cup of water, “Sip.” Stephanie waited for her to sip from the cup before she continued, “The other effect is on your equilibrium. By looking up and keeping your brain oxygenated, you can combat that as well.” Sara was suddenly feeling much better, so she figured the younger woman must have had a point after all.

“Wow, that works much better than smiling.” When Sara looked down, she found Stephanie with her brow furrowed into a question, “Oh, I usually just smile really big to try and stop my gag reflex.”

“Does that work?”

Sara blushed and looked down, “No, not really.” They both laughed at her admission, and then Stephanie stopped laughing abruptly and turned back around. Sara took that as an opening for her to continue groveling. “Um… You’re still mad about Friday?”

“You could say that. Nothing like showing up to someone’s bridal party and not even saying hello to the bride before you leave.” Stephanie laid the guilt on thick and Sara felt the sting.

“Look, I didn’t even know that’s where I was going… Warrick just asked me to bail him out on some dinner party. Until the toast, I didn’t even know it was for you, or even that you were getting married.” Sara was practically defensive and that was not how she intended the conversation to go when she worked it out in her mind.

The silence she found from Stephanie was starting to worry her. But when the younger woman turned around, she had a slight smirk on her face, “I was wondering how ‘Rick convinced you to come.”

A horrible sinking feeling was falling over her, “Y-You what?”

“But that still doesn’t excuse you for tearing out of there without even calling me later.” Stephanie was trying to confuse her even more, and it was working.

Sara was trying to recover, she could tell there was something else going on, but she could not quite put her finger on it. “I ah, well, I was kind of unplugged over the weekend.” Sara quickly realized there was something else that would have kept her from doing just that, “And besides, I didn’t have your number.”

Stephanie shrugged, and started going about her business again. Sara was struggling to come up with another justification for her lack of manners and did not notice the movement that was occurring in the office behind her. She was about to say something when she saw Stephanie reaching for a reddish looking material on a shelf. The material looked wholly out of place in the morgue. As she pulled it down from the shelf Sara’s breath caught in her throat as the light hit the fabric and the color changed. When Stephanie turned and held the shawl out to her with a shrug, “Why didn’t you just get it from Uncle Gil?”

That was when Sara suddenly realized there was someone standing behind her, as Grissom cleared his throat. She was frozen in place by the revelation and was completely uncertain how to proceed.

Apparently, Grissom did not have the same problem. He took a few steps forward so that he was standing next to Sara before he spoke, “Did we really need all the theatrics?”

Stephanie shrugged, “They were fun for me.”

That was when another voice joined them from the doorway, “And they were really fun for me.” Grissom turned and was surprised to find Catherine standing there, but not that she knew what was going on.

“Hello Catherine… I suppose I should have known that Thelma would not be far behind Louise.” Catherine and Stephanie exchanged some knowing looks and then laughed. Sara just looked at Grissom with her confusion. “What?” He just shrugged off her unbelieving look, “They even have the convertible.”

Chapter 49

The air was already beginning to cool and they were less than an hour away from the desired sunset. The guests were milling about the grounds of the Braun estate, waiting for the main event to start in the next few minutes. Half of the night shift at the Las Vegas Criem Lab was wandering around in small circles of conversations, as was a sizeable portion of the emergency room and surgical staff of the Desert Palms hospital.

Warrick Brown and his wife Tina were engaged in polite conversation with a couple who had recently moved out of state, but were in town for the wedding. Warrick noticed a short, blonde haired young girl walking in and out of the circles of people as they chatted, as though she were looking for something or someone. He instantly recognized the girl as Catherine’s daughter Lindsay. They had made friends many years ago, on her various visits to the lab.

When she passed beside him, she instantly recognized the man as well, “Hey Warrick.”

“Hey, Linds… Shouldn’t you be back with the bride, girl?” He put a gentle hand on her shoulder as he spoke.

“Yeah, but Mom sent me out to look for Sara… Have you seen her, War?” Lindsay kept looking around at the different groups of people trying to spot the woman.

Warrick craned his neck around and spotted the woman having an animated discussion with Nick over by the fountain. He leaned over and tried to point her out to Lindsay from her vantage point, “Follow the end of my finger… She’s by the fountain talking to Nick.”

Lindsay trailed her gaze down the length of his arm and when her eyes finally caught sight of Sara she gave him a smile. “Thanks, Warrick… Save me a dance later?” The delightful dimples on her freckled face always turned up the corners of Warrick’s mouth.

He nodded his head, “Got you on my dance card, Linds. Don’t forget me.”

“No way!” And she trotted off in the direction of the person she had been sent to find.

Warrick turned back to his wife, who was giving him a questioning glare, “Don’t look at me like that… She’s been my girl longer than you.” He screwed up his mouth stroked his chin as he tried to calculate the time, “’Bout six or seven years, easy. I think it’s the dimples.”

Jim Brass chose that moment to walk up to them and make a comment, “And here I thought it was those freckles.”

Warrick gave Jim a nudge, “Nah, you must have me confused with one of her other boyfriends… I think Grissom was the freckle junkie.” The two men had a good laugh at their inside joke, and everyone just smiled at their exchange.

Lindsay broke through the crowd right in front of Nick who slowed her down and held her back from falling down, “Careful, Linds… You’re gonna wreck that pretty dress before the weddin’, and I’m not gonna be able to save you from your Mom.”

She gave him an exasperated frown, “Nobody can save me from Mom, ever.” Sara and Nick both laughed at Lindsay’s gestures and gave each other a knowing look, because if they had told the girl she looked and sounded just like her mother in that instant, the shrieks would have been deafening. No fourteen year old girl wants to know they act like their mother. “Hey Sara? Mom sent me to get you.”

Sara held a hand to her chest in her surprise, “Me? Really?”

“Yeah, and she’ll kill me if I don’t hurry.” Lindsay was being dead serious, so Sara took her at her word.

“Since we don’t want bloodshed today, I’ll follow you there.” Lindsay was visibly relieved and took Sara’s hand to lead her back to the room where her mother was hiding away from the crowd gathered there.

Lindsay knew that today was a big deal. Her mother had even gotten her grandfather to let them use his house for the wedding; And she never asked Sam for ANYTHING. Lindsay really liked Stephanie and Thomas and she was truly excited when they asked her to be their flower girl / ring bearer for the wedding. She also really liked that she felt like she had someone to talk to about her mother. Stephanie was much easier to talk to than her grandmother or her aunt, and she was also a good friend to her mother, which Lindsay figured could only be a good thing. As she tugged Sara through the people to the back of the pool house where her mother and Stephanie were getting ready for the wedding, she hoped that Sara could fix the problem they were having. She did not know why her mother needed Sara. Lindsay always thought her mother was the only one who could figure Gil out, but she guessed that things must have changed.

Just before they got to the pool house door, she ran into her grandmother and grandfather who were obviously glad to see her in her new dress. “Lindsay, honey, you look so pretty!”

Lindsay looked back to see Sara smiling, “I was going to say the same thing, but she kind of dragged me out of the crowd too soon… Lindsay, why don’t you stay here.” Sara smiled at Lily and Sam and made her excuse to leave, “I’m sure I can find my way now.” She nodded at the older couple and slid past them, leaving them to admire Lindsay and her dress.

Sara got to the door and knocked when she found it locked. The voice that called out to her was familiar and sounded very coarse, “Who is it?”

“Cath, it’s me.”

The door swung open violently and she was pulled into the room in a gust, “Thank God!”

Sara was trying to catch her breath from the greeting, and then she saw Stephanie in her dress, and a horrified expression on her face. “Well, I’d love to say you look amazing, but what’s up with the face?”

Stephanie came rushing up to her and took Sara’s hands into her, “Sara, you have got to help me, please?”

Sara looked around the room and was still trying to figure out what was going on, “Yeah, sure… Wha’dya need?”

“It’s Uncle Gil.” A lump instantly rose in Sara’s throat.

When neither woman responded right away, she begged for an answer, “What about him? Is he okay?”

“You mean you haven’t seen him?” Catherine had asked the question, but the pain of the words came from Stephanie’s eyes.

“No, Nick and I had a call that ran late and I rode over here with him… Where’s Grissom?” Sara was beginning to understand the problem.

“Your guess is as good as ours… His home phone goes straight to voicemail and he’s not answering his cell.” Catherine was throwing up her arms with her explanation. “I even had Dispatch page him… NOTHING!”

Sara took a deep breath and tried to piece it all together, when something dawned on her. “Does his cell go straight to voice?”

Catherine looked as though she had not ever considered that his cellphone had not gone straight to voicemail, which meant it was still on. That was when panic began to fill her eyes, “You don’t think he-…”

“Now, let’s not jump to conclusions.” She was trying to be the voice of reason, as it was obvious these two women had gone well past that point already. She looked at her wristwatch, “Okay, so how much time do we have?”

“I’m supposed to be walking down that aisle in fifteen minutes.” That did not give her much time to work with.

“Okay… I’ll get you an answer in ten.” Sara walked out of the pool house with her cellphone in hand. She quickly dialed a number and then hit the extension, “Hey Archie! Give me a GPS location on Grissom’s cell, right now… No, I don’t have time for small talk… Yes, I’m at the wedding… Sorry, Arch, but I really need th-… You do?.. Where?... Are fucking kidding me?... No, sorry Archie… Yeah, I’ll get you some cake… Bye.” Sara shook her head and looked around for some way to make it to the front gate and back in under ten minutes. Son of a bitch! Why do you make things so hard?! She suddenly spotted a gardener with a golf cart and a light went off. She ran over to the elderly man and shouted at him, “Hey! Does that thing haul?”

“Huh?” The man looked completely confused.

“Look, I don’t have time to explain… I need to get to the front gate and back in under ten minutes… Can you help me?” The seriousness of her expression must have hit home because he just got into the driver seat and motioned for her to get in, which she did. In an instant they were barreling down the impossibly long drive to the front gate. He signaled for the guard to open the gate and she waited for what seemed like forever for it to open.

Once she got outside of the gate, she looked from right to left, in search of his hiding spot, but instead she found him just sitting there on a rock right outside the gate to the left. The guard came up to her and spoke, “Hey lady… He’s been there for like an hour… He drove in like an hour and half ago and then came walking out here and just sat down on that rock.” She gave him a sad look and he just had to ask, “I hope that ain’t the groom.”

Sara had to laugh when she responded, “Not hardly. But thanks.” She walked over to him and he finally noticed that she was there. “Have you lost your mind, Grissom?”

He just hung his head again and mumbled, “Probably.”

“Well, pick it up at the front desk and let’s get out of here.” She walked up and stood in front of him before she reached in and removed his phone from his jacket pocket and re-dialed the number which had called his phone an amazing number of times. “… Hey Cath… Tell Stephanie to just get ready… I’ll have him there in a few. I promise… One way or another.” She closed up the phone and returned it to his pocket. Then she took his chin in her hand and held up his face so that she could look into his eyes, “Now, what the hell were you thinking?”

His eyes became filled with unshed tears as he spoke, “I just couldn’t be that hypocrite, Sara.”

“What are you talking about?” Sara was dumbfounded by his response.

“How can I present her to marry someone? Me?”

Sara shook her head and shook away his questions, “You’re right.” He looked almost as though he had just been shot, but she continued, “It shouldn’t be you, it should be her father, but he’s not here anymore. You are… And she wants you there, more than anyone.”

“But-…”

“But nothing, Gil… Do you love that girl?” Sara was quickly losing her patience with him.

“You know I do, but that’s wh-…”

“Then quit being a selfish asshole and remember that today has nothing to do with you, unless you fuck it up.” Sara stood tall and crossed her arms over her chest, her indignity at his actions shining through clearly.

Much to her complete and total shock, he started laughing. Sara turned and glared at him, her confusion evident on her face. “What’s so funny?”

“Me… You… I think I know why this all happened like this now.” Sara was absolutely flabbergasted at his answer and it was glaringly apparent in her eyes when he stood up and took her into his arms. “I don’t even think Catherine would have had the courage to put me in my place like that.” He looked down at his watch and suddenly realized what he was about to do. “How sweaty are we going to be running back to the house to get there in time?” He was starting to remove his jacket when she suddenly realized that he had changed his mind faster than she had been able to keep up, but she had a surprise of her own to spring on him.

“Leave it on.” She started straightening his tie and smoothing out his suit jacket. And then she took his hand to lead him around to the other side of the gate. “Your chariot awaits.”

They both laughed at the sight of the golf cart with the flatbed across the back. The gardener must have sensed something and he gave them a look before he spoke, “With both of you, it’ll go smoother if you sit in the back.” He jumped out and threw a blanket over the tail of his golf cart, so that they did not get their clothes dirty.

Grissom hoisted Sara up onto the back end of the cart and then climbed up himself. The gardener immediately took off with the same speed he had arrived there and both Sara and Grissom were laughing at their situation. Without a thought, or any regard for their visibility, he wrapped his arm around her and gave her one of those kisses that she had claimed made it impossible for her to hold anything while in the throws of what she called “Grissom Kisses,” but he was completely living in the moment and when the cart came to an abrupt stop, he was greeted with a rather interesting sound; applause.

Sara turned her face away from the small crowd of people who had watched them arrive at the garden to avoid showing the amazing blush that was burning on her cheeks at that moment. Grissom simply leaned over and whispered into her ear, “I guess we’ve been outed.” And then he kissed her tenderly on the cheek before hopping off the back of the cart and turning to help her down as well.

She was still blushing furiously, but she had to admit that at least they did not have hide any longer or have to tell the story a million times. Sara wrapped her arms around his neck as he helped her to the ground and leaned in to whisper into his ear, “Does this mean the layout table is up for discussion now?”

That time it was Grissom whose face warmed with an intense blush, but he was able to recover well enough to give her a response, “Ah, no… But I’ll make it up to you, in other ways.” He punctuated it with a raise of his eyebrow that Sara mirrored it to show her interest. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.” He kissed her quickly on the cheek before turning for the pool house, “I have a bride to deal with… Wish me luck.”

Sara laughed at the comical expression on his face as he ran off to deal with the wrath of the waiting bride, but when she walked over to join the other guests she was blushing all over again. Their quips, whistles and laughter made her acutely aware of just how many people had been rooting for them over the years.

The only mystery she found was in the utterly confused face of Nick as she joined her team to take their seats. He was practically ashen with his shock, and Sara was unable to resist making a comment, “Is there a problem, Nicky?” Warrick threw back his head and laughed at the catlike pose and expression that she used to emphasize her question.

Nick shook his head, as though the whole thing could be cleared up like an Etch-A-Sketch and then he spoke, “Well… I thought he was… I mean isn’t he involved with… You know, um.”

They all looked at him like he had three heads, and they were all speaking Sanskrit, “Spit it out, Nicky.” Brass was always one to get right to the point.

“I thought he was with Stephanie’s Mom.” They all had their mouths hanging open at his completely ludicrous conclusion. “Well, why else would he be givin’ her away?” That was what brought the laughter out in full force.

But it was Brass that had the last word when he slapped Nick on the back, “Someone get this man a razor… Obviously all that hair’s gotten in the way.”

EPILOGUE

The garden had been filled with good friends.

The bride had been absolutely beautiful.

The vows had been said.

Many tears had been shed.

And joyous laughter had been shared by everyone.

All in all, Grissom decided the entire day had been a rousing success. Despite his fears going in to the thing, everything had turned out wonderfully. He was leaning back in his chair, his legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles and his hands clasped over his middle as he mused about the events of the day.

He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he failed to notice the appearance of the tall, gray haired woman standing beside him as she also observed the rest of the party. When she spoke, he was a little startled, “Weddings always seem to bring out the romantic in us all, don’t they?”

Grissom turned in his shock at the voice and then smiled at the person behind it, “Elizabeth, I didn’t hear you walk up.”

“Lost in your thoughts again, Gil?” She smiled back at him and laid a tender hand on his shoulder.

He stood, and pulled out a chair for her to sit. “Please, join me?”

She chuckled at his gesture of chivalry, “Ever the gentleman.” He demurred to her comment and waited for her to take a seat. However, she was ready to stop him in his tracks again when she asked him a question as he was about to sit back down, “So, does all of this give you any ideas, Gilbert?” When he blanched and stood perfectly still, she giggled under her breath. “Sorry, but it had to be asked.”

Grissom shook his head and was finally able to take his seat, “Elizabeth, you never cease to amaze me.”

“Just don’t be foolish, Gil.” She turned her gaze back to the others as they were dancing at the center of the garden. “Too many mistakes are made by doing nothing… Wasted opportunities are the greatest tragedy of mankind.”

He noticed the faraway look in her eyes and wondered what she could be referring to. He followed her gaze and realized that she was watching Catherine dancing with Sam. “I’m not following you,” he said as he looked back at Elizabeth.

“Mike should be here.” Her face was a complete void of emotion for an instant, and it nearly broke Grissom’s heart to see it. Then she turned back to face him and gave him a weak smile.

“I’m sure he was... In one way or another.” Grissom laid his hand over hers for reassurance.

“If we had not wasted so much time on propriety, he could have walked down that aisle and danced with our girl today.” She then looked directly into his eyes and put her other hand on top of his forearm, “Don’t make our mistakes, Gil.” She then moved her hand to his heart, as though she wanted drive home her words with her touch, “Learn that lesson the easy way.” As the words left her lips, a lone tear made its way down her cheek and she stood to leave him with her parting advice.

He was still processing the wisdom that had just been shared with him when he felt the presence of another at his side. He turned to find a slender, obviously winded and stunning brown-haired beauty taking the seat next to him. The sight of her nearly took his breath away, and when she leaned her head on his shoulder after plopping down in the chair, next to him, he felt that electricity passing over his skin once more. “So, how much longer are we here?”

He almost missed the fact that she had been talking to him, and he had to ask her to repeat herself, “I’m sorry, what?”

She smiled at his question, “In your head again, Gris?” He shrugged to show that he had been caught, “I just wanted to know when you felt it would be safe to leave, this time.”

He sat up a little straighter and was trying to size up the situation, because her question had confused him a little, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, sure.” It was Sara’s turn to shrug.

“Then why is ‘Miss Life of the Party’ set to go already?” Before she could answer him, Nick walked up to the table where they were sitting.

“Hey Boss.” He was carrying a small gym bag and a CSI vest in his hands, “Here ya go, Sar… You left these in the Tahoe.”

“Oh yeah, thanks, Nicky.” She took the things from him and stashed them under her chair. And then she returned her attention to the younger man with the obvious circles under his eyes, “You gonna be okay to drive home?”

He sloughed off her question, “No problemo… Super Dave and his fiancé are ridin’ back with me, so I’m golden.” He stifled a yawn as he was talking.

She smiled at him, and that was when Grissom noticed that she also looked very tired. “Well, you go home and get some sleep. We should have everything back from the lab by the time shift comes around tomorrow night, so I need you awake.” She winked at him and he laughed at her joke.

“Well, have a good time, and congrats. Glad everything’s workin’ out ‘round here.” He waved them both goodbye and walked back down the path to the driveway.

“What’s up with Nick?” Grissom looked her in the eyes when he questioned the scene he had just witnessed.

“Oh, nothing unusual really… We just ended up pulling a double to get our last scene processed.” Sara actually looked a little more tired just with giving him that explanation.

Grissom placed a hand over hers, “So, you haven’t slept yet?” She just smiled at him. “Sara, why didn’t you say anything?”

She looked at him with a shocked expression before answering, “Are you kidding? I wasn’t missing this thing even if I had worked all the way up to getting here. I probably would have left a scene unprocessed to get here on time.” Grissom’s face was replete with incredulity at her remarks. “Don’t look at me like that… I already screwed up at the bridal party, if I had messed this one up, I’d have gotten my head blown off.” That was when he started laughing. Slow at first, but it built up into a full blown belly laugh by the time it hit its apex. Sara, however, was a little irritated at his laughter and she leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, “I’m glad you think this is funny.”

He shook his head and put a hand on her knee to try and reassure her, “No, it’s not that… I was just had the most unbelievable image of Stephanie in her wedding dress, chasing you around the grounds with a shovel.”

Sara pursed her lips, as she tried to suppress her own grin, “Yeah, well that was the same image I was trying to avoid.” Her words brought the joke home even more and the smile started to curl the corner of her mouth. “It’s still not funny.” Grissom held his mouth with his other hand, as he attempted to stifle his laughter, “Okay, so maybe it is a little funny.” She leaned forward and rested her head on his shoulder again.

Reaching back to put his arm around her waist, he turned and lifted her chin up to get a good look at her sleep deprived eyes, “Okay, let’s get you to bed.” Without even a moment’s hesitation, Sara’s eyes lit up a little at his statement. “For sleep, woman.”

She rolled her eyes and shrugged him off, “Fine; for starters.” She reached down and retrieved the items from underneath her seat as Grissom stood and held out his hands. At first, she was not sure what he wanted, but then she realized he was trying to take the bag and vest off her hands.

He slung the bag over his shoulder, laid the vest over his arm and then offered her the other arm. She shook her head as she used the proffered arm to rise from her seat and then said, “Man, this chivalry thing takes some getting used to.” Grissom simply smiled as she wrapped her arm around his elbow and grabbed his upper arm with the other hand and squeezed, “So, your place or mine?”

In a blaring second, the entire week flashed into a single memory through his mind’s eye, and it was punctuated by his old friend’s words: Too many mistakes are made by doing nothing… Wasted opportunities are the greatest tragedy of mankind. Instantly, Gil Grissom knew exactly what Elizabeth had been talking about, and the left side of his mouth curled up for a moment before he spoke. “Actually, Miss Sidle, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that…”

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